


Transmogrify

by Awkward_Giraffe



Series: The Detective Guild [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, But like Bungou Stray Dogs style, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Komaeda Nagito Being an Asshole, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Science experiment Hajime, switches between Hajime and Nagito pov, they solve crimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28654128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awkward_Giraffe/pseuds/Awkward_Giraffe
Summary: A top secret laboratory fire. A case with no leads. An annoying new temp that needs to go.Part of a branch of the Detective Guild, Nagito is one of the supernaturally gifted individuals tasked with taking on difficult cases. He's good at what he does, but has run out every temp they've hired so far. For good reason, he thinks, yet everyone seems determined to keep this latest one. Whatever this Hajime person is hiding, Nagito will be the one to find it.Hajime is looking to start over. He's been normal his entire life, so it shouldn't be that hard to fake now. But how will he keep his new coworker from digging up the past he is trying so hard to forget?
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham
Series: The Detective Guild [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099961
Comments: 20
Kudos: 80





	1. Fire

Everything smelled of smoke.

Nagito stuffed his hands deep within the pockets of his abused green jacket wishing he had brought something heavier to wear. The light snow had turned to slush beneath him, melted by the nearby structure fire and the many boots running through it. Footprints would be impossible. The cold and wet had seeped through both his shoes and his socks making his toes uncomfortable.

The blackened shell that was once a respectable laboratory continued to smolder, the heat of it brushing against Nagito's exposed skin as he avoided the first responders going about their duties at an exhausted pace. It had burned through most of the night and preliminary reports said casualties were high.

A placard several paces from the front entrance remained with  _ HPA Laboratories _ inscribed in bold print. He decided he rather liked the unintentional symbolism of a sign promising to make the future a better place in front of doors where the glass had blown outwards and littered the pavement. If Mahiru were with them he would ask for a picture of it. His sad attempts at memorializing it with his phone would not be the same he already knew.

"I've finished speaking with the chiefs." Sonia's hair was a wreck. She had attempted to twist it together, but it was plagued with flyaways. One oversized sleeve dragged over her face to stifle a yawn. The long dark coat she was tucked inside was a few sizes too large and she pulled it closer around herself. "Everyone is tired. I do not think I can rally them any longer." Or keep herself going, he mused.

"Luckily it's out," Nagito said dryly.

"Yes, so it would seem." They stood side by side watching the proceedings in silence. Equipment was packed up, several vehicles left. The crowd of onlookers began to disperse. His toes reminded him that they were growing numb and he stomped his feet to placate them.

Gundham staggered toward them not long after, soot streaking his bare arms and face and his summoned chaos energy dispersing in his wake, a dark cloud interspersed with sparks of purple. Ever dramatic, Nagito was still a little surprised to see him without the usual heavy makeup. He wrapped an arm around Sonia's shoulders and nodded at Nagito. "The source of the fire still mystifies those gathered. It is believed to have begun in several locations in the testing facilities, but the truly dangerous spark ignited fuel tanks being stored in the basement."

Sonia shook her head. “Are they thinking arson?”

Nagito knew the answer to that question without having to catch Gundham’s solemn nod. They continued to speak, numbers of people who may have still been inside when it exploded, what sort of testing the facility did, pausing to watch in silence as a charred corpse was removed in a dark plastic bag. He shuffled a few steps away, not particularly caring if it looked natural or not. Neither one commented, though they had known each other long enough to not be surprised by the action.

He simply didn’t belong beside them. Not their abilities or their cutesy relationship status, both of which made him feel like an awkward third wheel and hindrance.

After what felt like an eternity since he had first received the call the night before, Nagito was finally allowed to do his own investigating. Gundham had a keen eye, but he was forever distracted by the pretty blonde at his side and the way Sonia would occasionally pause to smile at him meant that, while together, they were only useful if something could keep their focus. Both had useful powers, Gundham with his chaos magic had assisted the rescuers' efforts in quelling the flames and Sonia’s words empowering them to push past normal human limits. 

He, on the other hand, was just lucky. 

Sometimes.

At times, Nagito was still unsure what had made Makoto Naegi, his idol, decide he was worthy enough to begin this branch of his precious Detective’s Guild. And with it there was always that creeping thought that someday Naegi would learn to not have trusted his initial instinct when it came to someone like him.

So he made up for his lack of powerful use in other ways, beginning with determining what could have caused HPA labs to go up in smoke in the first place. He knelt next to an ignition source, remnants of the floor and walls were especially charred. But what had started the flame? He dragged a finger through ash and held it under his nose. Frowning, he moved to another spot and knelt close, the knees of his pants catching the soot.

Nagito was holding his chin, deep in thought when someone coughing directly behind him dragged him back out of his musings. Clenching his hands into fists, he dug false cheer out of some reserve he kept for moments such as this to force a smile onto his face, but one look over his shoulder caused it to wilt. “Why are you coughing on me?” 

“I wasn’t…” Another fit of coughs and Nagito rolled his eyes before standing and facing down the latest in data technicians for the 77th division of the Detective Guild. This model was especially forgettable. Short dark hair, large glasses, a name that started with M or possibly an S? As Nagito crossed his arms and fixed a flat look at the underling, the man took several hasty steps backwards.

“You’re late.”

“I slept through the call,” the tech pleaded, grasping his case in both hands. “I didn’t realize my phone was on silent. Or that I would be receiving calls at midnight at this job!”

“So many excuses…” He shook his head, receiving sickening pleasure at seeing the man whimper. “Now that you are here, what have you learned?”

“Uh…” he looked around, gulped, and said, “the building burned down?”

Nagito laughed. “Astounding.”

Sweating, the tech tried. “It was arson...?”

“Do you know that or are you guessing?”

“G-guessing…”

“Guessing isn’t what we do here. We are an agency that solves crimes. If we guessed then we would never get to the bottom of anything. Take a look at this.” Nagito waved a hand at the scorch marks around him that he had been studying before he had been so rudely interrupted. “What do you make of these?”

Setting down his tool kit and pushing his glasses further up his nose, the technician knelt closer. “This was an ignition source. Something very hot burned right here.”

“Better, but what are you missing?” He gave the tech half a minute to tremble and try to come up with something. “What started the fire? There’s no fuel, nothing that looks like it might have caught a spark.”

“So you’re thinking a powered individual started the fire?”

“Yes, nice of you catch up, temp.”

“Um, my name is-”

“Also,” Nagito continued, pacing a bit around the space, “there were several ignition points all of which were started near simultaneously. This ability must be something that can generate fireballs. A pyrokinetic user, I think…”

He paused, looking up to see the tech staring at him. “What are you doing?”

“What do you want me to do, sir?”

“Your job. Collect evidence. Take some samples to prove I’m right about the ignition source. Anything that looks interesting.” A small noise caught his attention and he stomped on a shred of paper that skittered across what remained of the tiled floor by the wind and picked it up. “I’m sure this could be useful,” he said as he held it out. Just as the man was about to take it from him he released it, letting the breeze push it further away from them. “Go fetch.”

With a pleading glance, the temp ran past him after the evidence, skidding on the messy floor as he narrowly missed snatching it before it was carried away.

“You shouldn’t be so cruel to him,” Sonia chided, quietly approaching once he was alone. By then the poor man had chased the slip of paper half way down the hall and collided with several other people moving about the ruins. “I happen to like Murano.”

“Is that his name?” Nagito walked away on his own investigative search, not that Sonia seemed to take the hint that he wished to be alone and fell into step behind him. “They couldn’t find anyone with a more forgettable name?”

They entered what he assumed was once a work room, but now it was only a cluster of furniture beyond repair and equipment that would be costly to replace. Gundham was already here, his brow furrowed as he picked through a collection of items looking for anything recognizable. Briefly he eyed them as they entered before dismissively returning to his task and holding up something composed of soot stained glass.

Nagito immediately headed for a row of tables and began blindly pulling out drawers. Luck tended to guide him to finding clues when he wasn’t actively looking and so the case could be made that attempting to make enough noise to tune out Sonia’s voice rather than actively search would be enough for his more passive ability to kick in. It would at least save him the physical pains of forcing probability against the fate’s design. Unfortunately, his true motives did not seem to be enough as she merely raised her voice over the crashing and clunking he made. He could only assume that it was either a part of her vocal ability he was unaware of, or perhaps some sort of training royalty received.  _ How to be heard even when others do not wish to listen... _

“Yes, he has been working with us for a month and you have not once learned his name? He is rather sweet and intelligent. Did you know that he was considered for a government role out of university?” She smiled, one of her usual friendly and endearing ones that had won over a few hardened hearts over the years. “He also has a pet cat named Mittens. He shows me pictures sometimes.”

“He has a cat.” He had run out of drawers, however there seemed to be a box of something that Nagito suspected also could make a fair amount of noise sitting on another table. “The only way he could be any more boring would be if he had a hamster instead.”

Nagito landed face first on the floor with a grunt. A dark tendril innocently slithered away from his ankle, recoiling to Gundham who continued to rifle through his pile of debris as though he had not been paying attention to their conversation.

“Gundham, please. You are not helping.”

His head inclined in a soft bow, one hand pressed flat against his chest. “Apologies, dark queen. I was overcome at the mention of another’s minion that I acted without thought.” A light smirk still twisted his lips as he turned away.

“Ah, are you all right?” Sonia offered Nagito a hand which he refused to take. Now he was wet and sore on top of dirty.

“I’m fine…” He rotated his head, resting his other cheek on the floor a moment so as not to look at her pitying face. From this new angle he could make out something wedged beneath his ransacked table. It came free with a sharp tug and as he brought it into the light he could make out the face printed on plastic laminate. A badge it seemed had somehow escaped the worst of the fire and Nagito sat up and began turning it over in his hands, scrutinizing the name and image. Mugan, assistant. Looked to be a fairly bland individual in his opinion, from the generic haircut to blank expression.

“What is it?” Sonia asked, leaning over his shoulder, careful to not let the tail ends of the coat brush the floor.

“Perhaps a clue,” Nagito replied, wondering if it really was. He would have to investigate who this Mugen individual was and if he knew anything about what had transpired here.

“If it is of interest to you, I may have also discovered something of use.” Gundham pulled a panel from one of the machines and brought it over, wiping away the large sticker that adorned the side clear with a fist. “Many of these devices bear the same emblem.” He tapped a long finger over it, a sphere emblazoned with two F’s. “I am not aware of who this company is, but perhaps they are the patrons of this establishment.”

Nagito forgave Gundham despite several points on his body still throbbing dully. He took the panel from his hands and pursed his lips as he brought it closer to his face. “Has anyone heard what they were studying in this lab?”

“It is unclear, but I will say this." Gundham glanced around them, eyeying the corners and the door before huddling closer. “Never in all my years of entering these domains have I encountered one such as this.”

Nagito opened his mouth, then paused as he too looked about them. “I believe you had a type you frequented. Perhaps this is not that type?” He looked back at the sticker and all the meanings that FF could potentially have.

Gundham scowled. “You doubt me? I shall have you know that experience has taught me that a facility, such as this one, was performing experiments on subjects. But those subjects are no longer here.”

Sonia stroked his arm. “I think it is late and we could all use a break and some rest. How about you?” She fixed Nagito with an expectant look.

“Don’t worry about me,” Nagito said lightly. “You two put in more work than I did earlier, so I’ll stay and get as much as I can done on this investigation as I can.”

“If you’re sure…” Sonia watched him a moment longer, but Nagito was not going to change his mind. With a sigh, she grasped Gundham’s hand firmly and pulled him towards the door. “Then we will go and return in a few hours.”

“Take your time,” he said. It wasn’t until their footsteps faded that he was finally able to fully relax. He held up the panel once more, then set it aside to see what else he could discover.

^^^

“Dead?”

“So it would seem…” Their AI system, affectionately called Chiaki by the entire division, yawned despite not needing rest. Nagito had to hand it to whomever designed her program and the cute image which gazed steadily out of a screen at him that it all made her incredibly likeable. He imagined if she were a real person then perhaps she would be nice to spend time with.

He looked back down at the badge belonging to the assistant, Mugan, once more. “There was no denying that the exact same name was listed among the dead from the fire, and matched via dental records making it much less likely that it was faked. He rubbed his eyes and dragged his hands down to hold his face while he continued to stare at the screen and the name in particular, internally cursing himself for hoping this would be a lead.

“What now?” Chiaki asked. 

Nagito glanced at the other monitor. “Maybe I’ll try a background check.” In another window he started filling out the form with Mugan’s details, copying what he needed from what he had already gathered. “I feel like I’m on to something. This guy has to be connected somehow.”

“That sounds like a good plan. But maybe you should also consider other options while you wait. It can’t hurt, right?” The floating head that made up Chiaki’s visual representation smiled warmly and Nagito found himself having to be reminded that she wasn’t real. He was glad he had chosen the empty data lab to do his work today uninterrupted rather than his desk.

“I know.” He grabbed the file they had received containing the experiments that were being conducted at the lab prior to the explosion, still frowning at the lightness of the documents. The professionally worded email had stated that most of their experiments had been kept secret for reasons they labeled as security and refused to expound upon. The one with the most pages detailed something about exploring the bounds of superpowered abilities and listed several that apparently had been the main focus, while leaving an ambiguous “ _ among others _ ” at the tail end.

That did not raise any suspicion whatsoever.

The door flew open, followed by an angry “I knew I’d find you here.” Nagito swiveled in his chair to find Togami standing in the doorway, his navy blue suit freshly pressed and scowl firmly in place. He couldn’t remember the last time he had actually seen the corporate manager in person, despite the numerous emails, and so took a moment to appreciate this likeness of him.

“Why is he your favorite, Mirage?”

“Because I typically get a good reaction out of the unsuspecting. Also, because I just spent an hour on the phone with him getting my head bit off and want to convey that same level of hostility.” A quick tilt of the chin to convey superiority and it was nearly impossible to tell the two apart, even if the real one had been in the room as well. Mirage arched a single eyebrow. “Is it working?”

“Not really,” Nagito hummed.

Mirage let out a very uncharacteristic sigh for Togami as he slouched and let himself into the room. “Tell me what happened with this one?” Stranger still was hearing Mirage’s true voice come from their superior’s mouth. ‘Apparently Kirigiri is pissed about having to talk another ex-employee down from reporting you. We’re getting a bad rap, you know.”

Nagito shrugged, turning away and pretending that this censored document about mouse trials was the most riveting thing he had read all day. Unfortunately, he heard Mirage collapsing into a chair and rolling over to him. “What will it take to get you to listen? Do I need to use someone else?”

The light around Togami’s shape began to warp, at times sparkling as the image warped into that of Naegi instead. He kept the same navy suit, but it wasn’t as crisp as what the other wore. The jacket looked like it was stuck in a cycle of being left to hang over the back of chairs when not in use and likely did not go to the cleaners every week. The voice changed as well as he said, “Will this convince you?”

Nagito took a moment to admire Mirage’s level of detail in any transformation. “Makoto would never look that disgruntled.”

“But  _ I  _ am disgruntled.”

“Fair point.”

Mirage groaned and rubbed at the sides of Makoto’s temples. “This is the fifth temp you have run out of the position of data technician this past year. I’m surprised this one lasted a month with how hard you were on him.”

“He was an idiot,” Nagito said.

“That’s not up to you to decide.” Makoto crossed his arms, more indicative of one of the others in upper management than a true likeness of his character. “We have to start searching again and hope someone applies. What are you looking for in a candidate?”

_ Loyal. Trustworthy. Wouldn’t sell us out the first chance they got. A dog would do nicely. _

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“Well, if you have an answer that I can reasonably fulfill you know where my office is.” Mirage stood, rolling the chair back to where he found it. “You’re correct, this doesn’t feel right to say as Naegi.” Makoto switched to Kirigiri who fixed him with a sullen look. “If you can come up with an answer I can put in a help wanted ad, you know where to find me,” she said before leaving swiftly with posture rigid.

That had gone better than he had expected. Everyone had been avoiding him once they learned that the cat owning temp had abruptly quit this morning. And now that the worst of it was now past, he reclined in his chair, letting his head fall over the back of it. With only the ceiling to stare at, he let his mind go blank and his breathing slow.

“Why do you not tell them the truth?” Chiaki asked, reappearing on the same monitor after having vanished when their unexpected guest arrived.

“It’s for their own good,” Nagito replied.

“I may not be the most knowledgeable on human interactions, but I would think that if you told them why they might understand.” She waited precisely 15 seconds for a response, but when none came to her suggestion, she continued with, “Are you not friends?”

“Let’s get back to the case.” He clicked open a new email attachment and began to scroll through it.

“Understood. What are you looking at now?”

“Staff members injured during the fire.” This list wasn’t nearly as long, but included hospitals where they were being treated. Most appeared unsure if they would recover. He tapped a pen on the desk, then hit print. “I think I’ll check on them.”

“You could take Sonia. She is… She excels at speaking with people.”

Nagito caught where she nearly said  _ “better at speaking with people.” _ Not that it wasn’t true, or something of which he wasn’t already aware. “I’d hate to bother her. I think this is the first day off she’s had all week and being on site the other night until 6 am probably didn’t help. Don’t worry, I can handle something this mundane.” 

^^^

“I don’t know what you were expecting to accomplish.” Nagito kept his face neutral as the woman seated by the hospital bed crossed her arms, bopping the foot dangling over the other in perfect rhythm to something unheard. It amazed him how composed Ruruka appeared, hair and makeup immaculate despite her fiance lying motionless at her side. Still, the longer he stared at her the more it began to appear there may be the slightest tinge of red in her eyes. But he may also be imagining it.

Sonosuke Izayoi was on guard duty the night of the explosion according to the duty roster he had found. Somehow he managed to escape the worst of it, but still remained unconscious. His emergency contact was his fiance, Ruruka Ando, whom when Nagito had inquired about the patient had earned several looks from nurses who wished him luck. He figured he was learning why now.

She held out her hand to Sonosuke’s prone form, her tone factual and devoid of the emotion filled tears he is used to grieving partners giving. “The doctors say he won’t be waking for some time. Maybe not at all.” She grimaced, pausing in her thoughts to reach out and carefully swipe an invisible hair from the male’s forehead. It’s possible, Nagito thought, that Sonosuke’s hair had been brushed and a light powder dusted over his skin. It made him look more put together and less sickly, at least better than the person in the other bed that shares the room.

“Perhaps he told you something?” Nagito tried. When the woman gave him a confused look he continued with, “Do you know what they were working on?”

Her eyes scaled his full frame while her face twisted in disgust. He never stood a chance to someone’s appraisal who is wearing designer clothes and carrying a handbag worth the same as a car. “Not that I remember. We don’t discuss his work when he gets home. He just dotes on me like a queen.”

Not that she needs it. He’d already checked and knew her family is one of the richest in the country.

“But,” Nagito struggled against her smug expression. “Did he mention anything from work in the past week? Anything unusual? Anything at all to help us will work. We want to catch the person responsible for hurting your fiance.”

Her foot stopped moving and she spun the ring with a large diamond several times around her finger. “He never said anything about what he was working on. Not that I cared, but when I had asked he had said it was top secret. More top secret than even I could know if you could believe that. But I know who you should talk to.” Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward in her seat prompting Nagito to lean towards her as well, like what she was about to divulge would make all the difference to this case. “I think you should speak to that Seiko Kimura girl. She was always trying to make the moves on my man. Had to put her in her place once and let me tell you it wasn’t pretty. She did try to make another move on him last week. I bet this was payback.”

Nagito blinked slowly as he straightened. “You want me to speak to someone you suspect your fiance was cheating on you with?”

“He would never!” Her hands fluttered about and settled for grabbing the Sonosuke’s limp ones, squeezing it tightly. “We are in love! The most truest love and he would never even dare think of cheating on me, least of all with that skank.”

“You seem pretty convinced she must be involved in something related to him being hurt.”

“Well, of course she must be!” Ruruka huffed. “She’s attacked him before. It was positively disgusting the way she groped at my precious man’s helpless body. She is the most suspicious person where he works. You should definitely start with her.” Something dark passed over her face, making her next words echo with a haunting chill. “I bet she was even the one who did it, you know? She probably burned the building down herself.”

“I think I have heard enough,” Nagito closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He reconsidered whether he should say the words he was about to, attempting to negotiate whether there was any reason to show politeness for the sake of the woman before him. Eventually he grinned, perhaps a bit too wide due to it being forced and managed “I wish him a speedy recovery,” because it somehow seemed the only thing he could possibly say.

She hummed, returning her attention to setting Sonsuke back into picture perfect position and returned to tapping away on her phone. Nagito escaped notice as he fled.

^^^

“Seiko Kimura?”

There was a loud crashing that followed and a muffled yelp. Slowly he fully entered the tiny university laboratory, heading for the only bench that looked to be in use until shards of glass crunched underfoot. He peered behind it to find the woman in question on hands and knees attempting to mop a suspicious clear liquid with a roll of paper towels. As her head tilted up, her eyes widened and she withdrew her hands to her chest. “S-sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Nagito said, crouching in front of her. “Do you need a hand? I”m not very good at much of anything, but the least I can do for scaring you is help you clean this up.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s a delicate mixture. Was a delicate mixture...” Her timid words were muffled behind the fabric mask over her mouth. She sighed, sadly dragging another wadded up towel through it. “It can be quite caustic.”

“My own personal safety never bothered me.” She didn’t appear impressed with his declaration of self sacrifice despite his attempts at a confident smile and nonchalant attitude. So it seemed he still couldn’t get that part right.

“It’s fine,” she said a little more forcefully. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, you work at HPA Laboratories?”

She stiffened. “You want to know about the fire?” When he nodded, she withdrew her hands again, words spilling out of her rapidly. “I wasn’t there. I was out sick and worked from home that day.”

“But, I was hoping you could still help me.” Nagito made another attempt at an assuring smile. But when nothing in her face shifted he dropped it for a more serious one. “I’m looking for any information you might have. Things you heard the week before? Or stumbled upon? Maybe you saw a company email go out?”

Seiko shook her head. “No, nothing like that. The fire came as a shock.” She gingerly grasped a piece of glass between thumb and forefinger, examining the sharp angles and edges before setting it aside in a pile of similarly sized pieces.

“So you’re saying you didn’t know it was going to happen and took the day off?”

“What?” She gasped out. “You… You couldn’t possibly mean that I knew about it before it happened?”

“But I do mean that.” Nagito tilted his head innocently. “Are you saying you didn’t know?”

“Yes! I wasn’t aware there would be a fire that day. I frequently use sick time. It’s a part of my job.” When he raised an eyebrow, she waved her hands over the mess in front of her. “I synthesize many of the chemical compounds that are used in the experimental process. There are all kinds, useful in many different ways. I…” She faltered, one hand stopping just short of touching her mask. “I am capable of maturing some of these compounds within my own body. It’s why I take the days off that I do. To not infect others with anything that could be potentially harmful.”

“Ah, I understand now. I assume that’s why you also wear that mask?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly, her eyes looking sad. “It is unfortunate, but being near me could potentially harm someone while I am in the process of producing something.”

Nagito quietly agreed, looking at the pieces scattered at their feet. “Even with the building being destroyed, you are still working?”

“Those responsible for funding the experiments still wish me to continue my work. It is highly valuable and specialized.” She brushed a lock of grey hair behind her ear, eyeing a suspicious brown stain that looked to be a permanent fixture of her new location. “They have me set up here until they are able to secure a new location.”

“So tell me about Sonosuke.”

Seiko blinked rapidly, sitting up straight. “What do you mean?”

“Have you been meeting up with him in secret?” Beneath her mask he could see her jaw drop, her eyes gone wide. “Perhaps doing anything that would make his fiance, Ruruka, suspicious?”

At the mention of her name her expression immediately hardened. “What did she say? She only thinks of herself, but I can assure you I have never been interested in “her man” as she calls him.”

Nagito held up his hands. “She just implied you and he had been in contact. Was that wrong?”

Her gaze drifted to one side, then the other. Slowly she said, “No, I did reach out to him.”

“Behind his fiance’s back?”

“It wasn’t like that! Not in the way that you’re implying anyway.” She drew in a harsh breath and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ruruka has it all wrong. I reached out to him because we used to be friends. All of us.”

Nagito forced himself not to sigh. Personal drama and backstory were not high on his list of things he wanted to hear today. Or any day really. But if it helped him get one step closer to an arsonist, well then he may just have to suffer.

“Continue,” Nagito ground out.

“I guess it’s a bit of a long story.” Nagito nearly cried aloud. “We were close as kids. I was… always the third wheel with those two. But it felt so good to be included.” She shifted uncomfortably, wrapping her arms around herself in a pseudo hug. “But that changed when we grew up. I’ve always been…” She gestured helplessly to her arm, “I’ve always been like this. I attended a party thrown by her family while I was currently transporting a relatively harmless narcotic in my system.”

“They didn’t like that, I take it?” Nagito hazard a guess.

She shrugged. “They always thought I was unusual. It just went bad when they wanted a picture and demanded I take off my mask. There was an argument, she sent Sonosuke after me, he got hit with a full dose of the drug in the resulting fight.” Her face redend. “He passed out, but not before he knocked me over and it was… well she accused me of trying to have my way with him. We’ve not spoken since.”

Nagito drew in a breath. “So why did you reach out to him?”

“I... “ She looked away. “We were making plans. Not like what you are thinking! I… had doubts about a project that was being conducted.”

Ah, now they were getting somewhere. “What experiment are you referring to?”

“The one with the mice, of course.”

“What about the mice did you have doubts on?”

Seiko went silent for a time, but Nagito was willing to wait. Something about the entire story wasn’t adding up, and he suspected that some of the story being spun for him had been fabricated. It amused him that the woman in front of him thought she might get away with it, and he couldn’t help smiling ever so slightly while he awaited her answer.

“I had my doubts that the experiments were worth what we were putting our test subjects through,” she said finally.

“You were concerned for the mice?” Nagito asked.

She nodded. “Yes. Even mice should be allowed some amount of well being.” Her gaze bore into him, her words measured and even. A test, he decided. “Do you not agree?”

Nagito hummed in thought, tapping his chin. “I suppose I would agree if the experiment did more harm than good. So what did you do about these mice?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I was still trying to convince him of what we should do, but I guess he told Ruruka and then the fire happened.”

He nodded. “So you are sticking with the story that you were only experimenting on mice?”

Seiko hesitated. “Yes. All the paperwork of our experiment is available through the corporate offices and you can see that the primary test subjects were mice.”

“I’ve seen those.” What he had been allowed to see anyway. ”Then you may be interested to know that we did not find any mice in the building.” Nagito grinned. “Or cages.”

“Perhaps… they escaped?” She responded, her face going pale.

“Perhaps,” Nagito echoed, standing up. “Thanks for your time. I’ll call if I have any more questions.”

^^^

_ I will remind you that we cannot continue filling that position. Time and money is going into interviewing candidates that would otherwise be put to better use. If this continues, we will have no choice, but to place you under suspension until you sort out whatever it is that you need to sort out. _

Nagito sighed, letting the rest of the email pass by in a blur. Byakuya sure had a way with words and mild threats. He closed out without responding, assuming that it could await another time for him to respond with his usual amount of cheer and groveling. Switching his attention to his desk, he idly pushed his documents about the laboratory fire back into their folder which had grown thick with dead ends and useless bits of information. They did need a tech, if only to help with the research side of things.

His moment of respite was interrupted as a body collided with his desk, sending the neat cup of pencils he had meticulously sharpened scattering to the floor. Unapologetically, the visitor ignored them, sitting where they used to reside and swinging her legs back and forth, heels kicking against the frame.

“Did you hear they’re sending someone new today?” Ibuki grinned, puffing out her chest. “It’s Ibuki’s turn to show the newcomer around!”

Nagito smiled politely. “I was aware.” Because it had come in the form of a strict email from management and a request to leave this one alone which he fully intended to ignore. “You’re sure to be the most energetic tour guide we have.”

Her legs stopped kicking. “You think so? I’ve never done it before. But shouldn’t a good tour prepare someone for anything? Maybe if I dressed up and then jumped out at him that would really get the blood pumping!”

Or possibly send them packing without Nagito’s direct involvement. His mouth was creeping into a wide grin at the image of it.

“Don’t you dare!” Mahiru interrupted, instantly deflating Nagito’s mood. “We need someone to stay longer than ten minutes.”

“She has a point,” Nagito echoed, hiding that he felt no differently as Ibuki pouted. “We could really use the help.”

Mahiru raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you agree?”

Nagito dropped to the floor to gather his scattered pencils. “Right now?”

When he looked up he found her in her classic pose: hands on her hips and eyes narrowed into slits. He chuckled. “Perhaps I will give this one a chance.”

“Fine…” she conceded slowly, her stance loosening as she glanced at her watch. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here already?”

“Oh no! Ibuki’s late!” The musician leapt from his desk, accidentally bumping into him as he was standing, having gathered all of his pencils into one fist and sending him back to the floor and them scattering away further than they had before. A second later and she was gone, leaving him to watch the door from where he was laid out prone.

Mahiru stepped into his view. “Do you need a hand?”

“No, I’d hate to trouble you anyway.” Nagito sat up rubbing at his head.

Mahiru made a small grumbling noise, but left him to regather his things once more. She returned to her own desk and rapidly began tapping at her keyboard. Nagito didn’t dislike any of his coworkers. Mahiru in particular acted as the unofficial mother of the department, keeping everyone organized and functioning even though many were keen to go about their own business. She had been there since the beginning, applying with seamless paperwork and references that showered her in praises.

It showed, even now. One glance at her desk and Nagito could see the neat files of her cases, her desktop flickered through photos she had taken when not in use and her camera resting on a corner where it waited while she uploaded her pictures. She carried out an investigation with perfect professionalism that Byakuya had used her example when describing the ideal employee. At least she was modest about it, blushing when someone brought it up and never mentioning it herself.

Ibuki’s recruitment into the organization was less conventional. They had been called to the site of what had, at first glance, looked like a bomb had gone off. An entire brick wall had blown outwards and it took only moments to find her sitting among the debris holding a guitar and sheepishly admitting she had been the cause. She had been taken in to not be a danger to others with her sonic abilities and focus them into more constructive avenues. Still there had been the occasional window that needed to be replaced because she had gotten a song stuck in her head and forgot to regulate her volume.

Contrary to both her and Ibuki, Nagito had stalked his idol, Makoto Naegi, long enough to be considered an asset. Of course he never described it like that, hence one of the reasons Nagito admired him so much. No, he said things like how it was luck that they continued to run into one another and allowed him to truly see Nagito for the potential he had.

Kyoko often backed anything Makoto said if he used enough conviction in his tone.

Byakuya liked him because his guesses on what stocks to purchase were always spot on.

It was quiet in the tiny office room that several desks occupied. Besides Mahiru and Ibuki’s desks, there were also ones for Sonia and Gundham. The original founding members, he thought fondly as he spun himself slowly in his desk chair allowing his mind to wander away from another new invader into his world. The only ones missing being Kazuichi and Mikan who had spaces of their own elsewhere in the base. Sonia had joined because of her connections. Gundham because of an ultimatum. Kazuichi was scouted. Mikan rescued. Back in the days of when he wasn’t suspicious of new faces.

That wasn’t to say he hadn’t at least cast some doubt on the others. Akane had threatened to break his arm if he continued to stalk her when she first arrived and if he was that desperate to see her boobs she would just show them to him. He had politely declined, but she had pulled open her shirt anyway. After that he left her alone.

Perhaps it was wrong of him. No, it was wrong. He knew that deep down.Yet every time he found himself checking backgrounds, showing up at inopportune moments to catch them off their guard. Using his luck to unearth anything that could be used against his friends.

Well, he thought, rubbing his hands together. He had given Ibuki long enough to get started with her tour with whoever the newest person would be. Now it was likely time for him to introduce himself and guess how long they may last.

If Nagito had his way, they would never expand outside the group they had going now. It was all they truly needed. His neat group of friends that he vowed to protect no matter whether they wanted it or not. And he would protect them. They’d eventually thank him for it.

^^^

"Over here is a meeting room. And over here is another meeting room. And what's this one? Woah, so this is where we keep the extra toilet paper!"

Hajime laughed a little as his guide rifled through the storage closet remarking on what was contained within it. As far as first days of work went, this was pretty good. His tour of the building had included things he didn't think he needed to know, such as which snacks in the vending machine were not Ibuki's favorite, but he was happy enough as it was. Everyone was friendly and the nervous first day feelings had long vanished.

That was until a new face stopped them in the hall.

"Who's this?" The man smiled warmly, but Ibuki looked uncomfortable. That should have been his first clue. With his pale complexion and the way his well worn clothes hung from his frame, nothing about him appeared intimidating.

"I'm Hajime," he said, holding out his hand. The other looked down at his offered hand, but didn't take it. "I'm the new data technician. Ibuki has been showing me around."

"Hajime, huh?" He played with a piece of messy light hair. "Isn't that the most common name?"

"I suppose?"

"Only suppose? You won't last a week with that attitude."

"Nagito, being mean on Hajime's first day is mean to the max! He was liking it here thanks to Ibuki's awesome tour guide skills." She threw an arm over his shoulder and stuck out her tongue at Nagito.

"It wasn't my intention to be mean." Nagito held up his hands and chuckled, a dry throaty one that felt less than authentic. "Only truthful. Enjoy your limited time here."

Hajime waited as the tails of Nagito's green jacket swept around a corner to mutter, "What's that guy's problem?"

"Ibuki doesn't know. I think he's just a jerk." She grabbed his wrist and pulled. "Down this way is the garage. Kazuichi has some cool stuff to look at!"

Nagito? The name did not ring any bells and he had done at least some research before he had arrived. He hadn’t wanted to be surprised by whom he was about to meet, but somehow that name had escaped his notice. Who was he? What were his abilities? What was his deal? All of these things ran through his head while Ibuki continued to chatter about which chairs were better during meetings.

“Hey, what can you tell me about him?” Hajime said, interrupting her when she stopped to take a breath though he had been surprised by how long that had taken.

“What? Oh, you mean Nagito?” Ibuki made a noncommittal noise, her eyes shifting from side to side. “I mean, He’s kinda been around forever, but we don’t always get him.”

He frowned. “Don’t get him…?” Hajime repeated.

“Yeah, you know like how no one really gets the lyrics to a song, but you sing it anyway because it’s catchy? LIke that.” When Hajime responded to that with a blank look, she chuckled nervously and tried again. “He’s like country music. Some people like him, but the rest don’t want him in the same room. And Ibuki doesn’t know anyone that likes country music...”

“Are all your references like this?” Hajime said dryly.

“Ibuki is a musician on the side,” Ibuki shrugged. “Right now, it’s very indie, but you should totally come listen to me play sometime! I practice most nights until ten. Kazuichi built a soundproof room for Ibuki to play in too. Want to see?”

“Sure,” Hajime said with a soft smile. He was a little unsure when she snagged him by the wrist and began to drag him down the hall, but he felt himself easily going along with what she wanted, at the very least to see what it was she had to offer. He hoped the others were much the same, though Nagito, and his cold welcome, continued to linger in the back of his mind.

They hadn’t made it far before they were abruptly stopped by a tall woman with a thick mane of long brunette hair blocking the hallway while stuffing a handful of chips into her mouth. She crunched loudly, but smiled as she looked between him and Ibuki. “Who’s the fresh meat?”

“Akane, this is Hajime. He’s the new temp and Ibuki was showing him around,” the musician declared proudly with a wide grin on her face.

“No way! It’s nice to meet ya.” Akane wiped her hand against her skirt and held it out for Hajime, which he took and ignored the crumbs that brushed against his palm. “Hey, follow me. You can meet Coach too while you’re here.”

She waved them on and pushed through a door into a large gymnasium. Equipment of all kinds lined the sides while mats had been stretched out across the floors. In the center stood a massive bodybuilder of a man. He looked up from where he was adjusting one of the mats when they entered and jumped to his feet with a booming “Who’s this?”

“New guy,” Akane said before overturning her bag of chips and emptying the remains into her mouth. Once empty, she crumpled the bag into a ball and tossed it at a trash can, cheering when it bounced in.

“Welcome to the team,” he said, reaching out and grabbing Hajime’s hand in a massive fist and shaking it hard enough to make him wince. “My name’s Nekomaru, or coach, some people call me. Whichever’s fine. I keep everyone in shape around here.” He paused, a frown creasing his brows that suddenly had Hajime wishing to escape. “No powers?”

“N-no,” Hajime said, managing to wiggle his hand free and hide it behind him like it had somehow betrayed him. “How did you…?”

“Ah! My ability is to borrow other people’s ability, so I am pretty good at recognizing what someone has when I touch them.” Despite the loud tone and huge form, there really wasn’t much of anything else intimidating about the man in front of him. Hajime felt himself relaxing at passing a test he didn’t realize he would have to today. “Not that it matters that you don’t have one, because I know regular fitness training as well. In fact, stick with me and you’ll even be able to beat ability users like these two someday without any.” He grinned while jerking his thumb at both Akane and Ibuki who took a moment to recognize what he had just said.

“Hey!” Akane huffed, “Don’t you go filling his head with ideas that some weakling like him could beat me.”

“Oh yeah?” Nekomaru’s grin looked far more devious. “I suppose you could demonstrate then?”

“That mean a fight?” Akane hunched forward, as she did so her ears, nails, and fangs all elongated and her eyes took on a more feral appearance. “Prove to the new guy we’re not a bunch of pushovers here?”

“You might want to step back,” Nekomaru told Hajime and waited for him to take several strides away from the mats. “What about you, Ibuki? Two on one may make it more of a fair fight.”

“Ibuki has been told to use her indoor voice when inside,” Ibuki said, picking at one of her many bracelets. She hunched her shoulders with a small nervous giggle.

“It’s okay if it’s for training.” Nekomaru fell into some kind of fighting stance that Hajime wasn’t familiar with, but he still glanced over his shoulder at Hajime. “The most important thing when fighting ability users is to know what you’re up against. Ibuki, for example, will probably stay out of range to hit me with her sonic waves, but Akane will use her increased speed and strength to get up close and personal.”

“That’s not the most important thing,” Akane chuckled before moving fast enough to nearly become a blur. She reappeared behind Nekomaru and pulled back a fist to deal the first blow. “Don’t take your eyes off of your opponent!”

It was over in the blink of an eye. Nekomaru adjusted to the side as Akane’s fist skimmed past his shoulder. In the same motion he had her wrist and using her own momentum, neatly threw her forward and onto her back.

“Like I said,” Nekomaru grinned at Hajime who was staring open mouthed at what he had just witnessed, “The most important rule is to know your opponent, but the other most important rule would be to not take your eyes off them.”

“Do you need to tag out?” Ibuki asked. She had leaned forward onto her knees as Akane picked herself back up.

“Not yet,” she growled and launched herself at Nekomaru once again.

Akane, Hajime remembered from his research, had several articles featured on her, normally discussing the amount of damage she wrought when unsupervised. From the reckless way she threw herself into her violent assault on her opponent it was clear why they existed. At first he was concerned about Nekomaru’s well being, but the man continued to deflect punches and kicks. He was sure that it was Akane, despite her advantages in strength and speed, that had yet to land a hit.

Though what he found odd were the matching determined grins on both of their faces. It was suddenly apparent that they were clearly enjoying their sparring match. And judging by how neither seemed to be out of breath they were both in remarkable shape. It was amazing really and a small faint whisper begged to allow him to join in. But he had just succeeded in convincing his new coworkers that he was a plain, boring person, so he resigned himself to watching from the sidelines.

“What have I said about keeping your form? Going all out makes you sloppy.”

With a snarl, Akane tried to kick him, but succeeded only in having her ankle caught in his grip. Nekomaru pushed it over her head and she backflipped with the motion, catching herself with her hands and springing back. Despite the disadvantage, she had recovered with surprising feline grace to land on her feet and on top of Ibuki. The musician yelped as she was pushed backwards, the sound louder than what would have been normal and forced the group to cover their ears with their hands.

Still ringing, Hajime pulled his hands away just as something cracked overhead. Hundreds of tiny shards began to rain down, stinging as they cut into his skin. He crouched, covering his face with his arms as the remnants of the overhead lights continued to fall and a less familiar feeling surged forward from within trying to protect him without him calling it out.

Abilities still foreign within his body rose to the surface. The wounds began to stitch themselves closed as time slowed around him when his senses became hyper aware. Before Hajime could draw his next breath, memories of fire choked him, screams of long dead people echoing from nowhere deafening the world around him. A laboratory he hated going up in smoke. The few seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity.

“Hajime!”

He kept his head down, suddenly feeling panic that he was moments away from being caught. He didn’t need a mirror to know that his eyes had turned to a bright crimson and he squeezed them shut while he forced himself to relax. “I’m fine! Just a little surprised.”

Letting out a breath, he picked his head and opened his eyes, now their usual green, blinking as Nekomaru grabbed his arm and lifted him onto his feet like he was a child.

“There’s blood!” Ibuki yelled, pointing a finger at Hajime. Her face was pale and she was shaking.

“It’s just a couple of scratches,” he said. The ones on his arms didn’t look bad thanks to the little healing boost, now mostly just some blood over shallow wounds.

“Everyone to the nurse,” Nekomaru announced and began ushering them out through the door.

^^^

“This isn’t normally how I like to be introduced.”

The group had all agreed that Hajime needed to be treated first despite his assurances that he really was fine and just shook up. Mikan looked and behaved timidly until it came to her duties, where she had sat him down on a chair and started asking questions about what had happened.

“Hopefully I won’t make this a recurring thing,” Hajime told her with a laugh. The others did not join in.

“Ibuki is going to get in so much trouble for this…” the musician bemoaned. “On his first day and everything.”

“It… really doesn’t look that bad.” Mikan’s voice was barely above a whisper. “You don’t have any blood conditions do you?”

“Not that I know of,” Hajime replied.

“Oh, because it is a little strange.” Hajime was sure she could feel his pulse race beneath her touch. “These cuts aren’t very deep, so they shouldn’t have bled as much as they did.”

The room suddenly felt suffocating and Hajime had to swallow to get his mouth to work again. “Maybe I was just lucky?”

There were several groans around the room. Apparently that was not something to joke about with this group. “Nah, I don’t think so,” Nekomaru crossed his arms, having gone deep in thought. “I would have been able to tell when I touched him.”

“Sorry,” he hunched his shoulders. “Did I say something wrong?”

“It’s.. Ah, well…” Mikan fumbled with the bandaid she was attempting to open. “Someone here is lucky…”

“Hajime has met Nagito,” Ibuki informed them.

Now it began to all make sense. He leveled his gaze on her and said, “Country music?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly! Keep an eye out for him.”

Hajime already planned on doing just that.


	2. Diamond Theft

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime joins Mahiru on an investigation. Nagito could use a hobby.

“Have you settled in nicely?”

Hajime grinned at Sonia standing in the doorway to the data lab with Gundham in her wake. The pair surprised him, she being so outwardly positive and encouraging and he looking like he was secretly practicing the occult in the tower on base that was declared his. “Yeah, it’ll take some time to get caught up, but I think this is going to work out.” 

An understatement as he currently had only managed to sort folders into order of priority. It seemed the entire department had been running possibly months behind. He was sure predecessors of his would have looked on the room in utter horror and quit on the spot just from having seen the state of it. When was the last time anything had been cleaned in here?

“Excellent. Gundham and I brought you a welcome gift.” She moved in, freeing up her significant other to place a box containing a mound of powdered pastries on the only free place left on his table. 

He leaned forward, sweet warmth causing his mouth to water. “Thank you! That’s really nice of you.”

“These _pastries_ ,” Hajime raised an eyebrow at the way Gundam had said the word, like that was not what they truly were. “Are made from a special recipe gleaned from practitioners of the darkest arts. One learns how to create them after passing a test that is dangerous to both mind and soul. Only the truly sturdy of body can withstand their effects upon ingestion.” His dark maniacal laughter had Hajime’s hand hovering where he had been about to take one.

“They are quite delicious,” Sonia assured, her smile gone a bit weary.

“Thanks,” Hajime said, finally giving in and taking one which he placed on his tongue under the gaze of them both. He wasn’t sure what the sweet was, but it melted in his mouth. “This is amazing!” he said, taking a much bigger bite.

Gundham shook his head. “Yet another falls to the grasp of these evil pastries.”

Sonia nudged him. “I bought two boxes.” He smiled a bit wider at the words.

“If there is anything that you may need, you are free to ask either of us,” Sonia continued. Her charm was infectious. He felt himself being drawn towards her, in the very least as wanting to follow her guidance. Was this an effect of her power? She at least seemed to have a control of the situation, something that he wished he was able to do with the ease that she seemed to overflow with.

“Yeah, of course. And thanks again!” They waved their goodbyes, exiting the way they had come with linked arms, mostly on Sonia’s part though Gundham appeared comfortable by the action. Not a typical couple, Hajime decided as he took another bite of pastry, but they seemed well suited for one another’s quirks. If quirk was the most accurate thing to describe whatever Gundham was.

Mulling it over while he chewed, Hajime turned back to his computer, swallowed and cleared his throat. “Uh… Chiaki…?”

“Yes? Do you need something?” The AI’s face overtook one of the monitors gazing steadily out.

“I was wondering…” He ran a hand through his hair, chewing his lip while he considered if he should even ask what he was about to. “About Sonia’s abilities…”

“She doesn’t use them often, if that’s what you’re worried about. And never maliciously that I know of.” Hajime sunk down in his chair. He hadn’t meant the question to sound accusatory, but he guessed it had. “I’ve been told you know she’s used it afterwards. Something about feeling very warm and gullible.”

“Have you heard her use it?” he asked.

“Hmm, once or twice. For me I can tell the pitch of her voice changes, but what she said wouldn’t have any effect on me because I’m not real.”

Hajime leaned his elbows on the desk.“You seem real enough to me.”

Chiaki giggled, a light airy sound despite the slight electronic edge that tinged her speaking voice. “That is nice of you to say. Really. My creator says both me and the AI installed in HQ are very unique, but I'm still just a program.”

“But, if you think on your own…” Hajime began, pulling another pastry from the rapidly dwindling pile, “isn’t that close enough?”

“I think that’s enough about me,” she said, quickly changing the subject. “I want to know more about you.”

“I’ve, uh…” Was he avoiding eye contact by not looking at the computer, or the webcam? “I don’t really have anything to say. My life’s pretty boring.”

“That’s not true,” Chiaki said, her avatar smiling brightly. “Everything is interesting to me because I can’t go out and experience them myself. Tell me about growing up. Did you have pets? What was it like to go to school?”

Hajime laughed. “Okay, I guess.” He hummed a moment trying to decide what was safe enough to tell her. Specifics were out of the question, anything that could tie him to his past life. “I had a goldfish. His name was Gill.”

“That sounds like an excellent fish name.”

“I mean, I got him when I was like four,” he muttered. “And I’m pretty sure my parents replaced him a couple times.”

Chiaki continued to giggle and slowly a smile grew on his face. It wouldn’t matter to him if she were a program or not, she was as real as anyone else he knew and Hajime came to the easy conclusion that he would consider her a friend. Using the excuse of work to change the topic he avoided sharing any more of his childhood at least until he determined what could be told to anyone in the building. It was bound to look suspicious if he said nothing forever. Assuming he stayed that long. When the silence became too much, she played background music from a playlist she’d created. Several sounded familiar, but helped pass the time while he worked.

“Already conning the others into giving you things, I see.” 

Hajime’s good mood instantly soured at the sound of Nagito’s voice. Like he had been waiting there all along, the other was leaning against the open door like he had just discovered the tech in the midst of something heinous. He quietly stored that fact away in the back of his mind. Never let his guard down while it was possible that Nagito could be lurking somewhere nearby.

“They brought this by on their own,” Hajime replied. Short, clipped words and straight to the point. He met Nagito’s eyes with a fixed look of his own despite the sly smile directed his way and pointedly took another bite of pastry. “You need something?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” Hajime rolled his eyes as his guest slunk into the data lab at what had been misinterpreted as an invitation. “I have wanted to ask you several questions.”

He sighed, wiping dusted sugar from his hands. “Fine. Go right ahead.”

“What is your prior work experience before coming here?”

“Is this an interview?” Hajime said flatly.

“In some ways, I suppose it is,” Nagito responded. He leaned over the table on his elbows, crowding into what Hajime now considered to be his space, eyeing the last pastry with an odd expression. “An interview for my own personal reasons.”

Hajime replied with a cool, “I don’t think I have to answer you.”

“Do you?” Nagito’s voice rose in amusement. “I am technically your superior here. But, I can see how that may be considered a personal question so I will move on to another.” He pulled a folder from the stack Hajime had made that he considered moderate priority and flipped it open to examine the contents. “How did you come across the job opening?”

“The internet.”

Nagito smiled wryly. “Tell me, do you think you’re funny?”

“Not at all,” Hajime answered. “I think I’m more of a tell-it-like-it-is type of guy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His attention returned to the file, flipping to photos and handwritten notes. “Tell me about your abilities.”

“I don’t have any.”

Nagito’s head jerked out of the file, the smirk finally gone from his face. “What?”

It was Hajime’s turn to shrug it off. “Not everybody has any kind of ability. I’m part of the majority of the population that doesn’t.”

“And you interviewed with who?” Nagito was blinking far faster than what should have been normal.

“Uh, that would be Kirigiri.” He hesitated, wondering if he got that name correct. “Woman with long lavender hair that looks like she has never laughed a day in her life?”

“That’s her, but…” Nagito shook himself, defaulting back to how he’d previously been. “I see, so they approved you for the position for another reason?”

“Yeah, no one else applied.” Hajime got the sense he was playing with fire, yet it was getting the better of him. “I wonder why.”

Nagito’s mouth opened in retort, only to be interrupted by Togami letting himself into the data lab. Or, not Togami, Hajime remembered Ibuki mentioning that the real one rarely visited in person. This imposter was most commonly known as Mirage, someone with an ability to disguise themselves as whomever they chose. He was smiling widely as he bustled in, Mahiru close behind, and ignored Nagito completely. “How have you been finding it here?” Not-Togami asked.

Hajime’s gaze slid to where Nagito had pulled himself into a corner of the room and was currently escaping notice. “I think I would like to stay.” It was more amusing than it should have been to watch his grin turn strained.

“Great! We are thinking you should assist Mahiru on the new case she was just assigned.” 

Mahiru politely nodded at his side. “I was going to head to the location now if you are able to join me.”

“Of course!” Hajime jumped out of his chair, scouting around the chaos surrounding him. “What would you suggest I bring?”

Nagito snorted, earning a scathing glare from Mirage.

“There is a bag the previous person used in the drawer here,” Mahiru illustrated by pulling out what appeared to be a messenger bag by the strap and holding it out. “That should have all the normal things in it.”

Hajime quickly pulled it over his head, and stood at attention. “Ready when you are.”

Once the pair was off, Mirage changed into a favored yakuza informant from the Kuzuryu clan. Now petite and fiery, he spun on Nagito with a loud, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Visiting,” Nagito said smoothly.

“Hell you are, I know your games. God damn it, Nagito. He’s not even been here a week.”

“All the more reason to get to know him.”

Mirage pinched the bridge of his nose, drew in a deep breath, and following the light rippling around him became someone Nagito wasn’t entirely familiar with. Now donned in a maid’s uniform and light blonde hair covering one eye, she interlaced her fingers over her stomach and squared her shoulders. “Nagito, I cannot stress this enough,” she said in perfectly punctuated syllables. “It is imperative that you try to make this one work. Please don’t make me have to email our bosses that we lost another one…”

There was no way he could argue with that miserably pleading tone. Not out of Mirage who mostly remained behind the scenes making sure the department ran smoothly and acting as liaison between them and upper management. That was a lot for one person to handle. Still, he couldn’t just readily accept a newcomer without knowing if they’d be good to the team. So he relaxed his posture and chuckled. “Fine, but only because it would be a bother to you.”

He would just have to be a little more subtle about it, that’s all.

^^^

The mansion stood on an immaculate estate and with every turn the scenery had Hajime's jaw dropping. Gardens of flowers and perfectly trimmed hedges. Stone formed into statues and furnishings. An expensive car parked within view. As the pair walked to the front door, he had to tilt his head back to take in the building itself, gleaming from every surface like it was all freshly polished. "Wouldn't it be great to live in someplace like this?"

"What? Are you nuts?" Mahiru huffed as she rang the bell. "Do you know how much time and money is wasted in upkeep of a place like this?"

Hajime shrugged his shoulders at the rebuke. “Sorry, I was thinking it would be nice to live somewhere this… nice, I guess?”

Mahiru kept her gaze leveled on him. “I get it. It’s the draw of something so fancy, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you this: what’s the point?” She waved her arms at the metal filigree that adorned the entry. “You can’t take any of this with you. It just takes up space.”

“I guess you’re right,” Hajime admitted with a sigh, but he continued to wistfully admire the luxuries of the house while Mahiru’s back was turned.

By the time the door opened she was smiling brightly. "Hello Ms. Mirabelle? We spoke on the phone? We are from the Detective Guild. I’m Mahiru and this is Hajime."

An elderly woman clutching a scowling grey cat under one arm opened the door wider. "Thank goodness you're here. Please come in. Don't mind Freyja. She likes to greet guests." She gave the cat a quick pat on the head, but it continued to glare death at the visitors. "The crime scene is upstairs. Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am," they chirped in unison, filing behind the woman as she led them through the grand home. Like the exterior, the rooms were just as lavish. A chandelier hung over the entryway, a set of stairs wrapping along the walls towards it. Portraits and paintings looked on along with a dozen more cats which the humans had to step around as many chose to lounge across the steps and did not budge as they climbed to the next floor.

They were led into a large bedroom suite where several more cats snoozed on the bedspread, only one noticing their arrival yawned before returning to its nap. An orange striped feline crouched low inside a large cat tree and stared with wide eyes until they were far enough away from the door for it to sprint for the exit.

"Ishkur is a bit shy," Mirabelle assured them, setting the grey feline on the bed and waved to the room. "Like I said over the phone, my diamond necklace was here. I’ve left everything exactly as I found it.” She nodded at Hajime while Mahiru began to take pictures of the room. “I watch those detective shows all the time. I know how it is done.”

He smiled politely back. “Why didn’t you call the police?”

The woman sighed. “They’ll take ages to get the job done. Make me fill out endless amounts of paperwork then let them sit on someone’s desk for months. No, you have a good track record and come highly recommended. Just last month Agnes was telling me about how you rescued that poor kidnapped shar-pei. No job too big or small, is what she said.”

“You can count on us!” Mahiru grinned. “We’ll get your necklace back for you.”

“Thank you both. Is there anything more that you need?” 

“If you wouldn’t mind going through everything that happened?” Setting down her camera and her own bag, Mahiru pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and handed it off to Hajime. “How did you discover your necklace was missing?”

“Well, let’s see…” The empty place in her arms previously taken by the scowling grey cat was replaced with a long haired calico that instantly settled against her chest with deep rumbling purrs. “It was this morning, after I returned home from checking in with my company. That would be the Evenwood company. I mean, they don’t particularly need me anymore, but I’m not that old yet and can still stay apprised of what’s happening down there.”

“Of course. What time was that?”

“Ah, I believe I left at about 7 or 7:30. Then I ran a few errands. Post, groceries, that sort of thing. Then returned home around 1.” She idly scratched under the cat’s chin. “It’s a routine I do every week.”

Hajime scribbled notes as fast as he could. “So other people would have expected you to be out this morning?” He glanced at Mahiru who gave him a quick nod of approval.

“Yes, several. Lewis and Sarah, of course. They are the ones managing my company now. Victoria stops in to help me keep the place tidy. Along with Robert and his team that mainin the gardens.”

Jotting down each of their names, Hajime looked over the hasty scribbles and hoped it was legible enough. “Any of them you suspect more than the others?”

She gasped. “Oh, I don’t suspect any of them! That would be rude if they hadn’t done it at all. I’d rather you just find and return it and we will deal with the perpetrator when the time comes. Or do you call them perps like on television?”

“Ah…” Hajime chuckled nervously. “I think perpetrator is fine.”

“Do you have a picture of your necklace?” Mahiru asked.

“Oh, yes…” Mirabelle sighed and brought them to a framed portrait on the wall of a much younger woman smiling into the camera. Around her neck sat a string of diamonds, the centerpiece a much larger stone in a silver setting. “It was a gift from a suitor once.Turns out they only wanted me for my company’s stocks however, but I love the necklace nonetheless.”

“That must be worth a fortune,” Hajime said.

“Yes, hence why I would like it back.” She pointed to a boudoir. “I left it out there, which I suppose I should not have done, but who suspects something like this to happen in their own home?”

“We’ll get it back,” Mahiru told her and Hajime found himself admiring her confidence in the situation. It was inspiring and despite him being unsure of where to start, it felt as though they would find it rather quickly. “Don’t you worry.”

“You are such a wonderful young woman. Reminds me of myself at your age.” She smiled wistfully and tucked her calico under one arm. “Can I get you anything? A glass of water?”

“We are good for now, but thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to it then. Don’t be afraid to come find me if you have any more questions.” The old woman began to shuffle back out, but abruptly turned back around at the door. “Oh, and don’t mind Ra. If you leave him alone, he will keep to himself.”

She pointed at the top of the carpeted cat tree that nearly reached the ceiling and to a large moth eaten tabby cat. One eye was missing and there was a large notch in the ear on the same side. His glare down on them was unsettling, tail flicking in a slow methodical pattern as though he were mapping out their every move and Hajime knew for certain he would never approach the cat, even without the warning.

Now alone, Mahiru leaned over his shoulder to look at the notepad and made a small noise. “Your handwriting could use some work.” Hajime drooped.

She pulled her camera up once more and photographed more of the room, taking angles of where the necklace had last been seen. “You’re a natural at this though. I’m sure you’ll do fine. Want to see how to look for prints?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

“Then let me show you.” She traded off her camera, fixing him with a narrow eyed look. “Drop that and you’ll be replacing it.” Then she set about pulling a kit from her bag, dipping a brush into powder and slowly dusting the surface. “I think you should add one more possible suspect to the list, besides the ones she listed.” Mahiru paused in her work, pointing to a definable print on the surface. “Ms. Kirigiri has been tracking a thief that steals valuables. I think we should see if it’s possibly connected.”

Hajime quickly added the information to his notes. “What if the thief wore gloves? Wouldn’t this not help?”

“If they were smart they would have.” The print was lifted on tape and traded for her camera. “However, I’ve always found that most criminals mess up somehow in the silliest ways and that’s how they get caught. So I fully believe we’ll catch them.”

He examined the print in his hands, wondering if this belonged to the person responsible,before stowing it in his bag. Mahiru continued to dust the surface, but after a few minutes let out a loud sigh. “The rest look like paw print smudges! So much for that.”

Hajime spun around in the room taking it all in. There was the door in which they entered and a row of windows on the opposing wall. “If you were stealing a necklace, how would you get in here?” he mused aloud.

“Hmm?” Mahiru looked up from behind her camera. “Oh, that’s a good point. I guess the door would be the easiest route. Totally safe and if you knew she wouldn’t be home, you wouldn’t worry about running into her.”

Hajime nodded as he crossed the space. “I just want to check one thing.” Curtains hung across the windows and he brushed them aside to peer out. They were on the second floor, not the tallest climb, but enough that perhaps one would be able to reach with a ladder.

“What are you looking at?”

“I don’t know yet.” He wiggled the window open and stuck his head out, a light breeze rustling his hair. “The window wasn’t locked. What if they got in through here?”

“One way to find out,” she said.

A few minutes later they were standing in the back yard examining the grass below the master bedroom and what was definitely a pair of divots dug into the soft earth. Mahiru took several photos and put her hands on her hips. “You sure you haven’t done this before?”

“Ah...,” Hajime felt his face warm. “Maybe I was just lucky?”

“I guess so. Hopefully you’re not Nagito lucky.” The camera went back to her face and from behind it she grumbled, “Don’t need any more of that around here.”

^^^

“I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your call earlier.” Victoria let them into her small apartment where they were assaulted by a mewing cat that wrapped around their legs in desperate pleas for attention. “Oh no, Zagreus! I’m sorry. I hope you’re not allergic.”

“It’s fine,” Hajime smiled as he knelt down and scratched the cat behind the ears. Zagreus purred and when he took his hand away then tried to catch it with his paws and draw it back. Hajime chuckled as he gave in and gave the cat a second scratch.

“I am assuming you suspect me of stealing Mirabelle’s necklace?” Victoria’s shoulders slumped.

“We’re just asking questions,” Mahiru tried to sound reassuring, but it didn’t relax Victoria’s posture at all.

“I wouldn’t ever steal from her. She is a great employer and I take my job very seriously.” Her eyes watered, turning the color brighter. “She is the one who gave me Zagreus. She rescues all her cats and if she can adopt them out she does. He’s a wonderful pet.” In response to his name, the cat ran to his owner and began to weave himself through her feet and reached both paws up her leg until she stooped to grab him.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Mahiru continued. “How about we all sit? Hajime can make us tea.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Victoria began.

One look sent Hajime dutifully to the kitchen to fill the kettle and turn it on. The other two filed in soon behind, taking seats at the table while the water began to boil. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so emotional,” Victoria continued, rubbing her sleeves under her eyes. “When I heard your message earlier, I was sure you were going to show up with the police to arrest me. Cups are in that cupboard.”

Hajime set out mugs and tea, going through the motions with one eye on the pair. Mahiru held her hand, thumb rubbing against her knuckles and voice gentle. “You don’t have to worry. We are just looking to understand what happened. Did you notice anything earlier when you were at her house? Anyone who was outside who shouldn’t have been? Anything out of place? Did you happen to see the necklace before it was stolen?”

“I… do remember seeing the necklace. It was out on the large dresser with the mirror Mirabelle has. The one closest to the window.” Hajime arched a brow as he set a steaming mug in front of her and she smiled weakly as she wrapped her hands around it. “Thank you.”

“What time was that?” Mahiru shot a scathing look Hajime’s way and he sighed as he ran back to the other room to recover his bag and the notebook that had been left inside it.

“Um, perhaps around 10? Miss Mirabelle leaves the house around 7 when I arrive and finish the usual clean by the time she returns home for lunch after 1 and we usually have it together.” Victoria blew a slow steady breath over the hot liquid and took a small sip. “I have milk in the fridge…” she said, rising from her seat.

“No, don’t get up. Hajime.” Said tech skidded back into the room and headed straight for the refrigerator. He set the carton on the table to enthusiastic calls from Zagreus, nearly tripping him in his haste to get to the table himself.

“You are both so kind,” Victoria said with a weak smile.

“Of course! It’s the least we can do. Did you notice anything?” Mahiru pressed. “Anything unusual maybe?”

“Now that you mention it…” Victoria pursed her lips. “I hate to say this. It sounds awful. But… Well there is always a team outside working on the lawns while I’m there. Mirabelle says the lawnmower noises are distracting, that’s why she has them there while she’s out. But.. I remember seeing a ladder against the side of the house with no one on it. I remember thinking it was a little strange, but I got distracted with my cleaning. Mirabelle keeps a robot vacuum to maintain the mess, but the cats shed a lot.”

“How many does she have?” Hajime spoke up. “If… you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’ve lost count. You’re better off asking her.” Victoria rubbed Zagreus’ head earning a chirp at the attention. “Knows all their names too.”

“If you remember anything else,” Mahiru slid a card her way. “That’s my personal number. Feel free to call me anytime, okay?” She smiled wide, the freckled skin along her nose scrunching as she did so.

“Maybe I will..” Victoria said slowly, returning the smile.

Hajime coughed, but when neither answered right away, he awkwardly saw himself to the door to gather their things, leaving the two to gaze into each other’s eyes a moment longer without his witnessing it. Zagreus followed, investigating his bag and his shoes while the two women joined him.

“This went far better than I expected,” Victoria said, partially in a daze.

“It was really nice to meet you,” Mahiru replied. “It doesn’t matter what time it is when you call. I’ll always answer.”

“Thank you for your time,” Hajime grabbed the handle and let himself out into the hall, needing to block the space with his foot to keep the cat from darting out while Mahiru drifted after him not rushed.

They were half way back to the office before she finally sighed and looked at Hajime with a note of surprise. “I forgot you were still with me.”

Hajime groaned.

^^^

“I’m sorry, Nagito, but please understand-”

“Understand what?” They were alone in the office, Sonia and Gundham flanking his desk likely backing each other up and too nervous to remain there alone. “That we are abandoning this case? Letting criminals run free? There is no justice for those killed?” He let out a long dejected sigh that made Sonia visibly tense. “I guess that’s how it is now. We don’t even solve cases here anymore.”

“Nagito, please…” Sonia’s tone changed from pleading friend to patronizing parent. “That is not how things are run here. And there are many cases that also demand your attention now. Other criminals that need to swiftly be brought to justice. However this case,” she said as she gently tried to pry the lab fire folder from under his hand, “I believe the phrase would be that it is covered in red tape? There are higher authorities asking us to let this one go.”

After a brief spat of resistance, Nagito relaxed his hand enough for the file to be pulled away from him. It was no matter, seeing as she wouldn’t destroy it and he could simply find it after she had retired to bed with the guy who thought two different contact lenses was a fashion choice. How did one come to that decision in life? Consciously awakening every morning and putting them in.

“Thank you,” Sonia said, hugging the folder to her chest protectively. It actually made him giggle that she did so, like he would lunge after it at any moment. Nagito would never. He had patience and was willing to wait them out.

There was nothing that said he couldn’t continue to work on it in his free time.

“I’m sorry about that, Sonia. Gundham.” Nagito laughed, letting his hands rest in his lap. “I guess I got carried away. I hate to leave a case that big unsolved.”

“An admirable trait,” Gundham said. “Such an ambition is tied to a strong astral presence. Even those in the nine hells would be jealous of your will.”

Nagito continued to smile and nodded his head like any of that had made any sense.

“I agree with Gundham.” Sonia patted her lover’s arm, an unspoken signal as his posture relaxed and stepped away from the desk. “Please, take some time off before you go back in?”

“I don’t know what that’s like,” Nagito told them.

“Perhaps you should go out? See something new?” she suggested. They were already steering towards the door, having to twist to look over her shoulder as she spoke. “How about a film?”

“Sure! Thanks for the suggestion!” He threw them a wave, his smile disappearing as soon as they were out of sight. A movie? By himself? That didn’t sound like any fun. He slumped at his desk, staring at his desktop like it would provide him the needed source to assuage his boredom.

He went so far as to open his browser and click in the search bar, but what to look for? What did he do in his free time? Had he taken any time off since he started? There had always been some new case to draw his attention and he hated the idea of lounging about idly. Nagito’s fingers lightly drummed on the keys in thought.

“Come in here. I want to stop at my desk.”

Spinning in his chair to face the door, he found Mahiru leading an exhausted looking Hajime through it. Honestly, he was dead on his feet and only about half conscious. Poor thing, Nagito thought just as he threw open his arms wide and put on his biggest welcoming grin.

“Welcome back! How did your investigation go?”

Mahiru looked up from her phone, her thumbs hovering just above the screen. “Huh? Why are you being so loud?”

Hajime gave him several slow blinks and stifled a large yawn. “I guess it went pretty good. We have some leads to follow up on.”

“You mean,” Nagito said, his mouth going round in shock, “That you haven’t managed to solve the case already?”

Hajime’s eyebrows rose. “Was I supposed to?” 

It took nearly half a minute before Mahiru looked up from her phone and noticed the both of them watching her. “We are operating our investigation exactly as anyone is trained to do. We can’t all rely on our dumb luck to solve cases.”

“It’s true, it is pretty dumb,” Nagito agreed.

“Hey Mahiru, can I ask you something?” Hajime winced when she turned to him, a perturbed expression carved into her face. “What exactly is your power? Or... do you not have one..?” The words sounded far too invasive than what he had intended and regretted them as soon as they left his mouth. Even more so at the look of absolute delight that glowed on Nagito’s face at the shift of conversation.

Mahiru set her phone on her desk and grabbed a pen from her cup holder. “It’s not a big deal and I don’t really use it while I’m working. I have a criminology degree, you know.” She tossed the pen high in the air and quickly formed a small window with her thumb and forefingers. As the pen began its descent she held up her hands and it froze, hovering in midair.

“I can create small pockets of frozen time. I can’t go too big or else it’ll drain all of my energy.” The pen dropped as her arms relaxed to her sides with a shrug. “I have stopped a criminal or two that was trying to flee the scene.”

“Actually that’s pretty cool.” Hajime picked up the pen and held it out. “That’s an awesome power.”

Mahiru blinked rapidly, her cheeks turning dark. “Don’t think flattery is going to get you out of your share of the paperwork!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Hajime replied. “I’m going to get started on them now. Thanks for showing me around today. Goodnight.” With a nod he left to return to his own work room.

It took a full minute for Nagito to realize that Mahiru was staring at him with a peculiar expression. “What is that face for?” she asked slowly.

“Perhaps this is just my face?” Nagito joked. His humor didn’t lower her eyebrows from their suspicious stance. “My case is being deemed cold and I’m supposed to take some time off.”

“Get off the base, why don’t you?” Mahiru put away her things and checked through her emails. “You linger and it’s a little weird.”

“Sorry to make you so uncomfortable.” He kicked his feet, sending his chair into a slow revolution while he stared at the ceiling. There wasn’t a whole lot that he was interested in doing. None of the local attractions drew his attention, not that he was sure he wanted to attend any of them on his own anyway. There was the possibility of sitting quietly somewhere with something to read that appealed. Especially depending on what he chose to read or, more importantly, who it was about-

“You’re making that face again.” The rhythmic tapping of Mahiru’s keyboard didn’t slow as she spoke, nor did her eyes leave the screen.

“I’ve just decided what I think I will do tomorrow,” Nagito announced. He pushed his chair into his desk and turned off his computer. With a small wave that wasn’t returned he left and headed straight for his room on base.

^^^

“Chiaki, wake up.”

The monitor in the data lab came to life at his call, the floating head yawning and blinking blearily like she really had just awoken from slumber. The AI peered out for a moment before asking, “Nagito, what are you doing?”

“I am looking for evidence,” he said, setting down the stack of files he had just thumbed through and reaching for another. “I am going to figure out what Hajime is hiding.”

“Nagito…” Chiaki sighed. “Hajime seems like a nice person. Don’t most people have secrets that would rather not let anyone find out anyway?”

“Depends on the secret.” He started pulling open drawers, rifling through them in haste. Nagito had set his alarm early and snuck away while everyone else was still asleep and before the new temp would likely arrive. “What if he is a mass murderer, Chiaki? Shouldn’t we at least find out?”

“Perhaps if you spent some time with him…”

Nagito scoffed. “Like I would want to spend time with someone like him.” His hand froze over another drawer of files, fingers stuck between two dividers. “Actually, that may not be such a bad idea. He’s bound to slip up sometime.”

“That was not why I had suggested it.” Chiaki had some of the warmest eyes Nagito had ever seen. They could only have belonged to something fabricated. No one in real life could acquire such a trait naturally. “Nagito, perhaps the two of you could become friends?”

“I don’t need any of those. I’m doing well enough on my own.”

“Please, think about it? Maybe you secretly have a lot in common, but you won’t know until you spend some time getting to know each other.” She smiled, radiating with a kindness few had ever directed Nagito’s way. No pity. No condescension. If she were real he figured he would hug her and never let go.

“Print out his application and paperwork for me.”

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“I did, and I will think about it. But in the meantime,” he fell into the chair at the desk, keeping the printer just into view. “It’s better to be safe rather than sorry, don’t you think? Either you can print it for me, or I can search for it myself. I have the clearance.”

The printer whirred to life a moment later. “Nagito, you may not have that clearance much longer if you continue to use it against people.”

“Not people,” Nagito corrected her. The pages were warm from their journey through the device. “Temporary employees.”

“What’s going on in here?”

Nagito turned a sunshine bright smile towards the door where Hajime now stood, his bag slung over one shoulder.

“Good morning, Hajime!” he sang in his most irritating cheerfulness. His fingers quickly folded the pages into a small enough square to fit into his pocket. “You are here early. That is really ambitious of you.”

“Yeah, well...” Hajime stepped into the room, setting his bag on the table all the while keeping his eye on Nagito. “I think I am behind even more since I tagged along with Mahiru’s case yesterday. I wanted to get a headstart before we went to interview anyone else. What are you doing here?”

“Old habits.” One hand clenched around the small packet of paper in his jacket pocket and in an attempt at acting natural he mimicked the movement with his other hand. “We don’t always have someone using this space and it’s quiet.” When Hajime raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting to his hidden fist, he coughed lightly. “Tell me about this case that you’re working on with Mahiru. It must be very exciting for someone like you to be handling something so important.”

Hajime’s gaze narrowed. “I guess you could say that. We are looking for a missing diamond necklace for a Ms. Mirabelle. She has a lot of cats…”

“So your first case with us is a theft. Interesting…” He didn’t know when he had started playing with a strand of hair, only that when he did Nagito realized it was the hand that had held the papers. For solace, he quickly brushed against the pocket, relaxing that he felt the lump that meant he hadn’t accidentally dropped it. “Who are your suspects?”

“Several people all knew when she would be out of the house. I think Mahiru cleared the housekeeper though.” He grimaced. “We’re speaking to the team that maintains the grounds today.”

“But no one stands out as a suspect yet?” Nagito gasped in faux shock.

“Cut it out, Mahiru’s already gone over how working cases here typically goes.” He pushed passed, sitting down in the chair. His head followed the line of the desk and the drawers that now sat open at small cracks. When his gaze returned to Nagito, it was hard. “She says things need to be done in a certain order.”

“Not everything. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Nagito waved, escaping quickly through the door and out into the hall.

Outside didn’t feel worthy of the praises everyone was giving it. The sudden change in light left his eyes stinging and watery and what was so great about this air that now engulfed him? He pulled the wad from his pocket and carefully unfolded it. The top sheet was Hajime’s application. Name at the top, followed by a single mobile phone number. 

The information that followed was relatively sparse. Education seemed to only be high school level, though nothing was listed as to where he had attended. No prior work history either. Nagito rubbed at his chin. Typically that pointed towards several years that were unaccounted for. Perhaps he had been studying somewhere, but hadn’t included it for some reason. Didn’t graduate perhaps? So Hajime Hinata was possibly a quitter already?

Nagito started walking, flipping to the next page and scanning the list of skills. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Just the standard ones boasting being able to use standard computer software that everyone should already know how to use the basics of. Nagito wasn’t feeling particularly impressed and wondered what part of this application had drawn the eye of his bosses. There wasn’t enough here to call someone in for an interview, was there?

Nagito turned down the street, flipping through the remaining pages and greeted with more nothing. No criminal history or really any history at all. That was plenty suspicious. Hajime had just turned up on their doorstep with the skill set they needed while there had been an opening.

The pages were roughly wadded up and stuffed back into his jacket pocket. That had hardly shown him anything, he thought bitterly. He brought out his phone and attempted a few searches, becoming increasingly frustrated at the number of results _Hajime Hinata_ produced. It was too common a name to find anything of use.

Nagito abruptly stopped walking, a car screeching past where he stood in the middle of the street and narrowly avoided hitting him. Unless that had been the point of the name. That name could be an alias to hide whoever this person is. Or could have done. The possibilities swam through his head faster than he could keep track of, each one encouraging the devious grin to grow further on lips. Nothing would stop him from uncovering the truth behind this latest temp and exposing him to the rest of the group.

As Nagito rounded the next building he looked up in time to see Hajime and Mahiru boarding a bus, supposedly on their way to continue investigating their case. Somehow in this wanderings he had circled back towards where he'd started. He eyed the bus as it began to pull away, feeling his chest begin to constrict painfully as he concentrated on it. Blood trickled from his nose in the effort.

_CRASH_

At the next intersection, two cars side swiped each other. The drivers hopped out and immediately began arguing, ignoring blaring horns and onlookers. Traffic came to a halt, the bus along with it.

Humming to himself, Nagito sat on the bench at the stop to await the next one.

^^^

If he had planned this adventure ahead, Nagito would have come better prepared with binoculars and listening equipment. Instead he was reduced to sitting in an outdoor cafe across the street from where his target was trying to scribble notes while Mahiru questioned a group working on lawnmowers. The previous table occupant had left behind a newspaper which Nagito now had unfolded and pretending he was reading when actually he was peering over the top most page with dedicated intensity.

He took a sip from the cup at his elbow and grimaced. Straight black coffee would never appeal to him and he wasn't entirely sure why he had ordered it. Something about the setting and his mission had prompted it out of his mouth when asked what he'd like. Nagito studied his coworkers. Mahiru hadn't changed much since she had started. Perhaps less starry eyed now that she had been here for a few years and twice as confident.

Hajime looked every bit the plucky sidekick the way she bossed him around with waves of her hand. It had him chuckling until he caught the frustrated glower when her back was turned. That interested him. So perhaps this new temp wasn't entirely a pushover. Nagito couldn't remember the last time they had someone like that in the position.

When one of them turned he ducked his head behind the newspaper. This particular page held the classifieds and for a moment he pretended to be interested. Someone was seeking a roommate, no pets or children. A would-be poet hoped their one night stand would return to them again. Conspiracy theorist looking for like-minded individuals to join a discussion board. This one asked for resumes for part-time job.

A pair of friends sitting behind Nagito got up suddenly and bumped into the server. She made a startled cry as she tripped and upended her entire tray of drinks. It happened in slow motion, impending doom billowing up from behind him as he heard the rattle of cups against the tray and the hush of other patrons in that split second watching it all unfold.

It could have been much worse. True, hot coffee splashed dark stains into his clothing and scalded his skin, but it wasn't terrible. Nagito sighed as he attempted to clean the worst of it while the server hurried to aid him, spewing apologies as she did. "I am so sorry. Are you hurt? Please, let me."

"I'm fine, don't worry," Nagito told her, still trying to blot his sleeve with his napkins.

"I'm going to grab a towel. And another cup of coffee." She quickly piled the broken cup on her tray. "It's on the house," she said as she sprinted off.

"Don't trouble yourself…" he attempted to call after her, but she had already gone. The jacket would need to be washed straight away, but a stain wouldn't make it look any worse. The newspaper hadn't fared well, large sections ruined and unreadable. He folded that up and added it to the pile of used napkins destined for the bin.

"Nagito?"

A shadow fell across his table as Hajime came to a stop across from him, brows furrowed as he held onto the strap of his bag. So much for going unnoticed. His luck must have drawn their attention with all the commotion, ruining his plans. "What are you doing here?"

Nagito, smiling pleasantly, indicated his barely touched cup. "Enjoying a cup of coffee at a cafe. That's something people do on their days off, right?"

Behind him, Mahiru had crossed her arms while her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. Nagito chose not to focus on her until she made a comment, instead leaving his sickly sweet manners for Hajime’s amusement. The temp's eyes darted between him and his cup, taking longer to assess his state before asking, "What happened?"

"Just a little accident. Nothing to worry about." He interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them. "How goes the investigation?"

"They are hiding something, I just don't know what," Hajime said, glancing back over his shoulder at the garage, whatever he was about to say petering out. "This is a pretty good vantage point of their work."

"Is it?"

"He's following us," Mahiru griped.

"No..." Nagito began, his mouth left open as Hajime’s expression fell flat, and his gaze turned accusatory.

"He's following me," Hajime supplied, and when Nagito failed to contradict his assessment, because it was true, he inhaled sharply as every muscle in his body grew visibly tense. "Why, exactly?"

The server chose that moment to reappear and save him from what was about to become a severe interrogation with a fresh cup of coffee which she set the table in front of him. "Here you are. And I brought a towel in case you need it. And here is your receipt. You don't owe us anything." She quickly loaded the napkins and newspaper onto her tray and wiped the table surface and after a bow and several more apologies darted back inside.

"Did you just get your coffee for free?" Mahiru gasped. "You better leave her a really nice tip for her trouble!"

"I didn't purposely cause that one." Nagito looked into the new cup at the dark liquid and sighed, pushing it away. It was too bitter and strong for his taste.

"You don't want it?" Hajime asked, his gaze lingering on the cup.

Nagito pulled his own closer. "You can have it, if you like black coffee."

Hajime grabbed the cup eagerly. "That's how I normally take it." Nagito could only gape as he watched the temp gulp the bitter liquid, pausing to let out a content sigh as he clutched it close to him. "Their coffee's not bad."

"Why am I not surprised?" Nagito forced out, but it wasn't very confident. It made him hunch at the sound, muttering at his own treacherous order, "of course you would take it without anything added." Clearly the universe paying him back for willing an accident just so he could tail them.

"I drink coffee for the caffeine." Hajime drained what was left, a scowl set firmly in place as the cup clicked against the table. "Why dilute it? And stop following us." The shadow over the table retreated, leaving Nagito to his own inner turmoil.

^^^

“Please, wait here. Ms. Sarah and Mr. Lewis will speak with you in a moment.”

The offices at the Evenwood company were large and magnificently decorated much like the owner’s home. So much so that Hajime was starting to feel really out of place in his second hand shirt and tie. He fidgeted with the glass of water that had been provided for them both until there was a sharp hiss from the side. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry,” Hajime said, instantly stilling his hands. “Just nervous.”

That was hardly half of it. The last time he had waited in a corporate meeting room that looked like this he had signed his entire life away. That memory alone sparked the cascade of others that followed it, leading to his new life of trying to remain just below the radar.

“Sorry to keep you both waiting.” Lewis pushed through the door first with a wide smile that didn’t carry to the rest of his face. His co-CEO was right behind him, similarly well dressed though her expression was a bit more subdued. She took a seat across from them while he leaned across the table to look within their glasses. “Do you need anything? More water?”

“No, thank you,” Mahiru replied brightly, remaining pleasant as he too took a seat and folded his fingers neatly in front of him.

“So you are here because of Mirabelle? Lovely woman. Couldn’t imagine who would ever steal from her.” His head revolved between the two of them like he was watching a tennis match. “Kindest, sweetest lady.”

“Yes, that is why we wanted to speak to you.” Mahiru nudged Hajime who got his pen ready. “Is there anyone you can think of who might want to steal from her?”

“Thieves,” Lewis replied quickly and tapped a finger on the table in front of Hajime. “Write that down. No good, dirty thieves.” He shook his head. “Awful, really.”

“They’re looking for names,” Sarah rolled her eyes and leaned forward in her chair. “Ms. Mirabelle has always not been shy about her wealth. Everyone knows she is loaded and getting up there in years.” She paused, steepling her fingers as she considered. “However, to outright rob her of her jewelry? Those we may name are after her company or her inheritance. Distant relatives looking for hand-outs is more their game.”

“I was going to say that,” Lewis said, his shoulders hunching a little.

“How about people who knew her schedule?” Hajime met Sarah’s gaze head on despite the intensity that felt as though she were seeing right through him. “The robbery occurred while she was having her weekly meeting with you. Who else would have known that?”

“Anyone close to her I suppose.”

“How about anyone that stands out?” Mahiru cut in. “Someone who might have had problems here? Maybe an employee who isn’t here today?”

“We can check who clocked in today, and I can speak with some of the supervisors.” Sarah placed her hands in her lap. “Is there anything else?”

“I suppose not. But if you think of anything, let us know. Thank you for your time.” Mahiru passed them a card with her contact information on it and shook their hands before following the friendly receptionist who escorted them back to the front door and onto the street.

“What do you think?” Hajime asked once the door had swung close behind them.

“I think we should check into them just to be safe,” she tapped her chin. “but I think the rest will be waiting to see what names they can come up with.”

“I definitely want to check into them,” Hajime clenched his hands into fists in his pocket. The uneasiness still hadn’t left even though he had exited the building and was now in sunshine and fresh air. Old memories, distant from age and near dreamlike floated at the edges of his thoughts.

_Were they laughing when he had signed his life over? He couldn’t remember_.

“Hey, did you hear me?”

Hajime jolted, blinking rapidly and breathing a little too heavily for their casual walk. “Sorry, I guess I got distracted. What was that?”

“Geez,” Mahiru huffed. “I was asking if you had a gut feeling on them or something, but if you’re set on ignoring me..”

“That’s not it at all!” Hajime tried to assure her. “I just remembered something, that’s all. It’s not important though. But to answer your question, I guess, yeah. Something seems off about those two, I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Mahiru hummed, her earlier annoyance evaporating quickly which made him relax. “Let’s keep it in mind,” she finally decided as they headed for the bus stop.

^^^

"Don't mind him. He's always been a little off."

Hajime paused his notes, tapping his pen against the page. Only Kazuichi’s lower half could be seen from beneath an impressive looking muscle car that needed something done to it that Hajime didn't fully comprehend. Luckily the mechanic hadn't seemed to mind, or notice, that his new friend understood engine workings about as well as theoretical physics and Hajime was happy enough to see the absolute thrill in the other's face at the jargon that spilled out when he spoke.

"That's what everyone's said, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Something metallic pinged against the concrete floor. "You could do what I do and avoid him."

"He followed me today, Kazuichi." Abandoning the paper he was annotating, he rubbed his hands over his face with a groan. "How do you avoid someone like that?"

"Yeah, good point." He rolled out from under the car and sat up, wiping his hands on a stained rag. "You're not planning on leaving because of him, are you?"

"No, I need this job." It didn't escape his notice that Kazuichi brightened at hearing that which eased some of his frustration. At least everyone else here seemed to like him. "I just don't know how best to handle the situation, you know?"

Kazuichi hummed, rubbing his neck. "I know a guy, we could probably make him disappear?"

Hajime blinked. “Do we really need to get that drastic?”

“I don’t know man. One time he showed up and announced that the guy in your position was cheating with several different people and he had the text messages to prove it.” When he noticed how wide Hajime’s eyes had gone, he let out a nervous chuckle. “I guess the guy accidentally texted Nagito instead of who he meant. It was pretty damning stuff.”

“Wait, can he actually make stuff like that happen?”

He shrugged. “Who knows? His ability is freaky weird. I for sure don’t understand it.” Pulling a small bolt from his tool box, he began to idly squeeze and mold the metal like it consisted of little more than clay in his hands. “I’ll tell you what I do know since we’re bros now. He says he’s lucky, but it’s like both good and bad and sometimes he can control it and sometimes things just happen. Also, it kinda hates me.”

“Hates you?” Hajime repeated, an eyebrow raised.

“Hey! I’m telling you man, his luck is out to get me!” He stretched his arms out wide. “This whole garage is a Komaeda-free zone. He touches something in here it’ll break within the day. I’m not making this up!

Hajime held up his hands. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Glancing down at the paperwork he was supposed to be finishing, he rubbed his chin. “When I saw him, it looked like someone might have spilled their drink on him so he was getting his for free. Was that his good luck?”

“I don’t know, but don’t ask him that. You do _not_ want to hear him go off on it.” Kazuichi grimaced then hopped to his feet, stretching his back and dropping the bolt back into his tool kit. “What do you say to calling it a day and getting a pizza?”

^^^

At the touch of cold fingers against his neck, Hajime bolted upright simultaneously knocking an empty pizza box and startling Mikan who fell to the floor with a shriek. It took a moment for his sleep addled brain to register his surroundings and to piece together that he had fallen asleep in the data lab. When it caught up to the situation at hand, he leapt up to help the sniffling nurse back to her feet.

“I’m… I’m so sorry I startled you!” Tears were running profusely down her cheeks which set panic coursing through Hajime’s entire system. Had he done something in his sleep? None of his abilities felt like they had been activated, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Uh, no, it’s fine.” He looked about the room, but finding nothing else to offer, grabbed the napkins that came with the pizza and held them out to her. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Mikan grabbed a napkin and wiped her blotchy face. “Chiaki had said you spent the night. I was only trying to check on you.”

“Oh…” She blew her nose and the worst of the tears seemed to be past. “That was… really kind of you.”

“You really shouldn’t sleep here like that!” The nurse drew in a deep breath, her hands steadying as they clutched the napkins. “It is not good for your back and you won’t get adequate rest like that. If you need to lie down you can come stay in the infirmary.”

It took a moment for Hajime to comprehend, but when her words fully struck him he smiled. Perhaps he had lucked out when applying for this job. “Thank you. I will if I need to.”

Mikan nodded a tremor in her lips and that had him worried she might cry again. "I also wanted to ask about your previous medical records…"

The bottom of Hajime's stomach dropped. "I don't have any," he answered quickly.

She hesitated. "None?"

"Yeah, uh, I've always been pretty healthy so I would just go for small things."

"Oh." Mikan began to fidget, twisting the napkin tightly in her fingers. "You should really have regular exams. I would be happy to assist. I-if you were comfortable with that, I mean."

"It's okay. Really. I feel fine."

"Mikan, is the temp refusing your help?” Hajime threw a glare in the direction of the irritating drawl, though its effect did little to temper Nagito’s smug grin.

“It’s fine. I was only offering to help…” Mikan ducked her head, avoiding either of their gazes. “I’ll go back to my office now…” She scurried out past Nagito, squeezing herself to get by him to avoid contact and was gone before Hajime had a chance to stop her, apologize, explain himself, anything for his refusal. He hated the idea that she might have taken it personally.

Being left alone with Nagito wasn’t helping his mood either. His eyes were boring into him, sweeping the full length of his body and making Hajime’s skin crawl in the process. “Do you hate women, or just doctors?”

“Neither!”

His mouth twitched, a subtle smirk flashing before resuming the previous look of contempt. “So you stayed the night?”

Hajime wiped his face, trying to remove the remnants of sleep from his eyes. “I’m wearing the same thing as yesterday. Couldn’t be that difficult to figure out…”

“Will you be doing that often? Staying the night?”

“I…” He paused, considering how best to answer that question, though his hesitation seemed answer enough. Nagito was full out grinning from ear to ear and the very sight made him feel cold. What could he possibly have against him? He hadn’t even said anything!

“Good morning.” Mahiru, the most well put together of them all, entered behind Nagito, her smile waning at the sight of him. “What are you doing here?”

“Hajime spent the night,” Nagito replied, like that answered all of their questions.

“He seems like a hard worker. So what?”

Nagito stared, but when she gave him nothing more than a raised eyebrow he shrugged. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” he said in the least comforting tone possible. “I’ll get out of your hair. Have a good day!”

Even once he was gone the unsettling feeling did not leave the pit of Hajime’s stomach.

Either that or it was the look that Mahiru gave him. “You look terrible. Didn’t you bring an extra set of clothes with you?”

“No… I wasn’t planning on staying all night.” Beneath her watchful gaze, Hajime gathered the pizza box and napkins, depositing them by the trash and taking a second to reorganize the file he had spread out across the table surface. “There was something I wanted to show you…” Rustling through his many pages, Hajime pulled one from a pile and held it out. “I called HQ, spoke with a Shuichi. He sent me his notes on the thief they’ve been tracking.”

Taking the sheet from him, Mahiru skimmed over the various near illegible scribbles. At least someone had worse handwriting than him. "Isn't it like I said? It could be the same guy."

Hajime shook his head. "No, I don't think so. See, he has a signature and he would never not take credit for a crime he committed." He tapped a finger near several lines and waited for her to look it over more closely. "I think we can rule him out."

"I guess you're right." She handed it back to him with a smile. "Nice work!"

"Thanks," he replied sheepishly. "I was digging into the employee records for Mirabelle’s company. It was what I was working on last night. Before I… fell asleep."

"I can work on those." Mahiru gathered them together and bundled them under her arm. "You should probably go home and change. Maybe get some rest before you get back to it. Thanks Hajime!"

Hajime watched her leave and then studied his shirt with a sigh. Maybe he would take up Mikan on her offer.

^^^

“What are you doing?” Chiaki asked innocently as Nagito sat down at the computer in one of the conference rooms. 

He chuckled. “Just have a hunch.”

She said nothing while allowing him access to the personnel files. It was an odd trait to give an AI, but he supposed her primary function was to aid the team despite any opposition to his methods. He was pleased when she let out a soft exclamation when the cursor moved away from where she expected to a different name.

It took approximately ten seconds for Byakuya Togami, the real one, to answer the incoming video call. He sat at his desk which had been swept clean of any clutter, but to the edge of the frame Nagito could make out what looked like a mug and plate with something on it. Not a good start if his boss hadn’t yet completed breakfast.

Byakuya’s hands were clenched in front of him on the desk and he answered with an eloquent, “What?”

“Good morning, Togami!” Nagito replied cheerfully, throwing in a small wave. “It has been a while since I gave you any investment advice. I thought I would throw a few guesses your way.”

There was a brief pause where neither one moved, before his superior sighed and readjusted his glasses on his nose. “Yes, of course. But,” he said, casting a forlorn glance towards the screen edge, “Let’s make this quick.”

“Hold on!” There was a loud scrabbling, and a brunette blur diving into view with a wide grin. “Hey Nagito! How are you?”

Nagito sucked in a breath, his mind going blank. It was stupid of him to still get so star struck around Makoto, and yet he couldn’t seem to shake it. He had idolized the man when they had just started this company, young teens with a dream and access to Togami’s hedge fund accounts, but that this magnificent human would reach down to the muck in which he slithered and call him by name?

“I’m good. Thank you,” Nagito managed to breathe out.

Makoto leaned forward on his elbows on the desk making Byakuya scowl as he was knocked aside. “And how’s the new guy doing?”

Everything came back in crystal clear clarity. He had called with a purpose. A singular mission in which he had been entrusted. Nagito cleared his throat, the initial shock of seeing his hero melting away. “He’s doing okay, I guess. Is helping Mahiru with a case to learn the ropes. He spent the night here.”

“Oh, I see.” Makoto’s face fell which perked his interest. One of the things Nagito loved about him was that Makoto wore his feelings on his sleeve. Every little thought that popped into his head was easily readable across his face. Nothing hidden, no secret motives.

“Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, well…” Makoto scratched his cheek. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but Hajime is going through a rough patch. Take it easy on him.”

Lying could be considered wrong if used for selfish reasons. Lying to his idol on the other hand was why he didn’t deserve the attention this man gave him.

“That sounds terrible. Is there anything I can do to help him?”

“You can make him feel welcome,” ground out Byakuya, glaring at the other.

Makoto laughed. “Sorry. He didn’t want us to say what was going on. But trust me, he needs this chance to get on his feet again. So, be nice to him?”

“I promise,” Nagito, the most vile being in existence, said. On a neighboring screen, the AI shook its head.

^^^

Hours later, Hajime could take it no longer. Lines had begun to blur together and he found himself rubbing his eyes more and more. Leaving Mahiru’s case for the time being he stood and went back to the boxes of messy files that needed to be put away, deciding which ones could be stored and which were still in progress. Worse were the loose pages and statements that were crumpled out of place without any notion of where they belonged. It was just as much a daunting task as facing records for a large company.

He was barely fifteen minutes into his new task when Ibuki skipped into the room and seated herself on the table. "Hey Hajime! Looking good!"

Hajime chuckled, glancing down at the band tee while grabbing a handful of folders and bringing them closer. After a quick nap in the infirmary, she had overheard his comments about wearing the same thing and loaned him the biggest shirt she owned. He didn’t recognize the name printed in giant block letters across his chest, but she had filled him in on their music while he stepped behind a screen to change. "Thanks again for letting me borrow this."

"Keep it! It doesn't fit Ibuki anyway." She swung her feet. "So what are you up to?"

"Still trying to catch up," he grumbled.

"Ugh, gross! Anyway, Ibuki is here to ask if Hajime wanted to join us for dinner!" She grinned at him when he tilted his head up to eye her. "Couple of us are going out and wanted to invite the new guy." She nudged him with her elbow. "That’s you."

Hajime rolled his eyes. "I don't really have the money for that right now…"

"That's okay, Ibuki can pay for you!" Her wild smile hesitated, then grimaced. "Just don't order anything too expensive, okay?"

"I…" Hajime, already taken aback by everyone’s generosity, stalled out completely when he saw what lay open in his hands. A page, creased into thirds and on letterhead, bearing the bright gold lettering of HPA Laboratories. Nothing else written beneath it came into focus.

Ibuki leaned over his shoulder. "Whatcha got there? Oh, the fire case!" Hajime managed to blink rapidly enough to bring himself back to the present and shift his dumbstruck gaze to his clueless coworker. "That one was pretty bad. We all worked on it at one point, but…" She made a low grumbling noise. "Looked like an accident. Maybe because of whatever they were doing there."

"Huh…" was the only sound he was capable of making for the moment. His heart had begun to race and his mouth felt too dry to say more.

"It's all top secret, but you wanna know what Ibuki thinks they were doing there?"

Hajime couldn't think, could no longer breathe. All of his senses were directed at the musician next to him who steadily leaned in and whispered, "Aliens."

"Aliens??" He choked out, his throat suddenly trying to function as the previous ten seconds hadn't just occurred.

She nodded seriously. "Yup. Aliens. Ibuki bets they were building a spaceship to contact them."

The tension evaporated from his body. "Did you find parts for one?"

"Maybe! There was this one piece of metal that looked like something you'd use to abduct someone."

"How would you know what that should look like?" Hajime asked, laughing a little as he flipped through the pages beneath the letter. Various reports lay underneath, several with neat curling script notes written in the margins.

"Ibuki watches movies! Especially the ones where an alien comes and wants to invade."

"Whose handwriting is this?" He interrupted her, holding up one of the papers. "Sonia’s?"

She leaned forward and squinted. "Oh, that's Nagito’s. Weird, right? His is nicer than Sonia’s."

"Nagito worked this case too?" Hajime's stomach squirmed.

"Did Ibuki not just say everyone worked that case?"

"Right, sorry…" Hajime quickly packed it all away.

"But it was mostly Nagito’s case. He takes the tricky ones." The unease resumed in his gut and he continued through the motions of making everything lay neatly within the folder. "Sonia and Gundham like anything murder related, Akane likes ones where she can beat someone up, and Mahiru likes to help women in need."

Hajime inhaled slowly through his nose. Everything was fine. No one was onto him. As the first page was placed back, pieces of the letter jumped out at him.

_...Been ruled an accident…_

_...Please make no further inquiries…_

_...Services no longer required..._

Letting out a breath, he said, "You're forgetting yourself."

"Well, I…" Ibuki picked at one of her many bracelets. "Can Ibuki like helping kids?"

"Sure, why not?" Hajime shrugged and gave her a smile. She acted like a kid most of the time anyway. "I bet you're good at it."

“Aw, see? That’s why we’re inviting you to dinner with the rest of us.” She sprang onto her feet and did several stretches. “Let’s race to meet everybody. Last one there has to stand on their head and recite the alphabet backwards!”

Hajime slid the HPA Labs folder beneath several others. “Sure, if you- Hey! Aren’t you supposed to say go?”

^^^

The entire department was smiling, laughing, over eating in several cases. Witnessing it from a lonely corner across the street left a bitter feeling in Nagito’s chest. Or perhaps that was just the after effects of using his ability to make sure he wasn't spotted as he tailed the group here.

It was a misty evening, not quite enough to rain, but droplets seemed to hang in the air and he pulled his hood over his head to keep from getting too damp. Wild strands of hair poked out the front, gluing to his cheek and forehead. A stray thought crossed his mind that he could go inside and join them, that he too could be telling jokes over a warm bowl of soup right now. Just the thought made his stomach groan at being made to wait and a small shiver go through him.

Chiaki’s words must have affected him more than he’d thought. Pushing that thought away, Nagito refocused his attention. Hajime was sitting between Kazuichi and Ibuki, either one at any point having a hand on his shoulder or patting his back. Something was said that sent the entire table howling, followed by the temp adding fuel to the already rowdy bunch with a comment. He was wiping under his eyes when a stiff server stopped by their table, clearly reprimanding them on the noise.

Nagito couldn’t understand it. How was it that people were able to trust so readily? Did doubts never cross their mind? Here they were, a group of people who have chased down criminals, seen what could possibly be the worst humanity might have to offer, but less than a week and they were happy enough to take someone out to dinner. Nagito crossed his arms, withdrawing further into the shadows.

As the group finally left the restaurant only to stand in front of the building, their voices carried across the street. Nagito couldn’t make out anything clearly, but their laughter was easy to distinguish. The knee slapping guffaws of Akane and Nekomaru, loud barks of Ibuki and Gundham, high pitched giggles of Sonia and Mikan. One of them flickered into his own likeness and doubled over.

Mahiru began to speak, capturing one of Ibuki’s wild arms and shaking her head. They waved to Hajime and began to move away, still talking animatedly as they walked, likely headed for their rooms back on the base. That left only one unguarded temp behind who, after waving them off with a diminishing smile, walked alone in the opposite direction.

Nagito pushed off the wall and fell into step.

Following Hajime was easy enough. Not once did the other look behind him, walking at a quick pace with his chin down and hands in his windbreaker to ward off the wet and cold. The rest relied on Nagito’s probability manipulation to keep from accidentally stepping on anything that would alert the temp that he was being followed. He stayed back, keeping out of streetlights, never getting too close while maintaining a visual of the spikey brunette.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he expected until he realized that the two of them had walked into a more derelict side of the city. On either side stood abandoned buildings, most used for warehouses rather than apartments. Then the pieces began to rapidly fall into place and confirm his suspicions. No address on his resume, staying at work, and now leading him into a place with no residences?

As Hajime turned a corner out of sight, Nagito stopped in his tracks. He had all the evidence he needed. Following him any longer would just further prove what he already knew. Turning on his heel and feeling cherrier than he had on the trip there, Nagito began the trek home to figure out how best to use what he now knew.

^^^

As Hajime stepped onto the side street, he came to halt. By now he assumed he had walked far enough away from the busier streets to not be caught. Now with eyes closed while he focused on his breathing, Hajime imagined what he wanted to do and waited while a strange rush overtook him.

Less than a minute later only a long legged hound with shaggy brown fur stood in the street. If anyone were to come across him, there would be something not quite right in the shape of the dog’s head, or the way it moved that would come across as unnatural. However it would be those who were close enough to see the unsettling red hue of his gaze that would know for sure this was no mere animal. Rumors were already beginning to spread of a demon dog that wandered these streets at night and he needed to be more careful.

Hajime trotted further away to find a place to hide out of sight until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This chapter got away from me and grew enormous...
> 
> The reference with Shuichi and the thief was a bit of a surprise for my beta reader/editor friend who has a partial saiouma fic for this AU that she was working on while I was writing this one. Also featuring Kirigiri, like Shuichi stands a chance keeping secrets from her. I think she should finish it.


	3. Purr-fect Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito makes a plan, a plot, or possible a scheme.
> 
> Meanwhile it is time to play Climax Replay because here's everything that happened in this case!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait! Life, you know?
> 
> Because it's been awhile, here's what happened last time:
> 
> Hajime has been helping Mahiru on a case involving some stolen diamonds for an old woman name Mirabelle. They interviewed their suspects (co-Ceo's Sarah and Lewis, the house keeper Victoria, and the landscapers) while Nagito lurked on the sidelines waiting for Hajime to slip up.

Simply looking at the folder for the HPA fire made Hajime queasy. He found it exactly where he had left it before going to dinner, but it had plagued his thoughts for hours, drawing him back to work earlier than what was required. Now that he knew it existed, and that his new friends were the ones who had investigated it, he couldn't ignore it. He had to know what was inside.

After checking his email and seeing if they had any results on their fingerprint search, Hajime set the file in front of his computer and stared at the blank cover while his stomach churned threateningly. A part of him wanted to hide it away in the bottom of a drawer, hopefully to be forgotten forever, and run from the nagging guilt. This was his chance to forget everything that happened with the laboratory and his part in it. It would be just as easy for him to burn it to ash like he had the building, making it impossible for anyone to look into it, including himself. But he couldn’t. He had to face whatever it was the detectives had gathered.

Hajime drew in a deep breath and opened the folder.

Each page made him wilt further. Descriptions of the damage and the casualties hurt the hardest. Names didn’t match up with faces he remembered so he couldn’t even be sure of who had survived and who had been injured that he knew of. There had always been so many people specializing in so many things that Hajime occasionally thought that no one would enter his room twice.

When he got to the images, he closed his eyes. They felt too hot to remain open and see what he had done. He wished he could remember, but he must have blocked out whatever had triggered him to turn on them. One minute, he had been in his room with yet another nurse, the next he was sitting in the slush outside watching the building burn. For a moment Hajime could feel the heat on his face, smell the smoke that clung to his hair and clothes, and the same terror clawed at his chest. The fear that drove him to his feet and away from it all without a backward glance.

It couldn’t have been anyone else but him. He was the only project member capable of creating fire. Their greatest success they had called him. He was supposed to be elevated to the next stage in their research though no one had revealed their plans to him yet.

Oh god, what had he done?

“Hajime?”

He jumped at the sound of Chiaki’s voice. “Y-yeah?”

On her monitor screen, her head tilted. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry.” He rubbed moisture from his eyes and hastily shut the folder. “It’s nothing.”

“That case you were looking at… It wasn’t easy,” Chiaki continued softly. Hajime looked down at it, recent and old images merging in his mind until he was confused as to what had just happened and what was over a month old. “You shouldn’t feel bad that you’re having a hard time with it. We don’t always have cases like that. Like your missing diamond case!”

Hajime considered arguing with her, but quickly realized that would only make her suspicious. He was Hajime Hinata, new data technician to the Detective Guild, and determined to be a boring individual. Instead he nodded as he pushed the file further away, wishing he could do the same with the memories they brought back just as easily.

“And, I don’t think you noticed, but there’s a match on your fingerprint.”

“Really?” That was enough to refocus him and he jumped at the screen to look at the results. A name and image had appeared and he gasped as he recognized the face looking back at him.

“I… I have to go tell Mahiru!” He quickly printed what he needed, grinning at the AI. He couldn’t change what happened, but he could use this second chance to make up for it. “Thank you!”

^^^

Nagito had hardly slept the night. He had given the usual remedies a half-hearted attempt, but thoughts just continued to stream in and he let them run their courses. Today he would reveal Hajime’s secret with the temp only being here for a week. It was just a matter of how he would do it.

Eventually he gave up on rest and drank tea while idly watching videos just to pass the time until he could put his plans into motion. He wanted something large, with the entire team present if possible which was difficult enough to do considering everyone’s schedules, or lack thereof. Perhaps he should lure them together with the promise of something pleasant?

Maybe a cake? He was fairly certain that was something most people liked. Obviously not made by him, he could never get the recipe right.

And once everyone was in the same room, he could make his announcement and watch the dumbfounded look on Hajime’s face when he had been discovered. Simple solutions were generally the best.

Smiling to himself, Nagito left his room and walked the short trek across the grounds and into the main building. He could imagine it all. Hajime’s look of horror, then guilt. The other’s standing there, now with plates of cake in hand as they openly shunned him. It was a beautiful scene, one he was eager to witness become a reality. Hajime Hinata was not all that he seemed and likely would be trouble if he remained here any longer.

He was almost to the office when there was a loud squeak of sneakers against the floor coming from behind and a moment later a body rushed past at a sprint. “Sorry!” Hajime threw back without looking at him, skidding into a turn through the same doorway he was headed towards.

“Mahiru! The fingerprint you found has a match!” The tech panted heavily. “It’s one of the landscapers.”

“Nagito!”

He paused, still several steps away from being able to view what was happening inside, left only with their voices as they chatted back and forth. Mahiru must have been equally excited as she didn’t chide him for running through the halls. Nagito looked towards Mirage’s office where Kirigiri was exiting, a fast food wrapper gripped in one gloved hand.

“Good morning,” Nagito offered.

Mirage waved a slip of paper from her other hand. “This just came in. You can take it.”

Nagito gazed at the open doorway to the office. Mahiru was speaking with no reply to her comments. On the phone perhaps? “Can’t someone else handle it? I had something to take care of today. Ibuki, maybe?”

Kirigiri’s face was flat and unmoving. “You seem to be mistaking this for a request.” To further prove her point, she held out the memo with a name and address in Mirage’s blocky print. “They are awaiting you to arrive at this location.”

“Got it,” Nagito tried to not let his disappointment bleed through. With a quick nod, Mirage spun on her heel and briskly returned to her office, leaving him alone in the hallway once more.

“We’ll be there soon!” Mahiru exclaimed. “Come on. You’re about to help solve your first case.”

Solve? Nagito could laugh. Mahiru was babying him. Prompting him along to give the correct answers, nothing more. It would be impossible if he was left on his own. Hajime was… nobody. Hardly any skills, experiences. How could someone like that handle what this job liked to throw at them?

Still, her words sent ice through his veins. He would need to make his reveal happen today, before the group could become anymore attached.

He would just have to solve his own case before them.

^^^

“Thank you for getting here so fast. I don’t know what to do.” Nagito had barely stepped into the lobby before an overly sweaty man in a suit grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards a set of elevators. Being tall while having no weight behind it, he could do little more than stumble over his own feet as he was forced to keep up with the man’s pace. “I never thought I’d have to deal with a situation like this.”

Nagito hummed as he watched the man repeatedly jam the button to call the elevator until the door opened. “Well, like they say. We help where we can.”

He nodded, stepping inside and selecting the eighth floor, fidgeting and swaying from foot to foot as they slowly began their climb. “This might be a really difficult case. We have no leads. I just can’t understand who would want to do something like this!”

“I can’t imagine someone like you would.”

“Right? Who would hate me or my company enough to blackmail me?” He began to chew at his thumb nail, staring at his reflection in the shiny walls. “No one hates me that I know of. And they’re asking for so much money! It’ll bankrupt us!”

Nagito fought a heavy sigh as they arrived at the office suite and to a small swarm of worried faces flocking around him as soon as he stepped out. They all looked much the same, bland and boring in matching muted colors of office dress. Even their space was the same shades of grey.

“Is this him? From the Detective Guild?”

“Can he really help us?”

“What’s he gonna do?”

“Everyone, please,” the man who had brought him here held up his hands. In the face of the others it amused Nagito that he looked more put together. “Let him work. Over here.”

The crowd parted enough to allow them to walk further into the room, but they trailed behind in a huddled mass whispering to one another. They stopped in front of one desk that looked exactly the same as all the others in the room down to the identical fake plant on the corner. “I have the email already up.” The man clicked until the screen lit up, displaying his inbox and the email in question from an unknown user.

Nagito took a seat and quickly skimmed over the message. Pretty standard blackmail message demanding money in exchange for keeping secrets. He opened the attached files to the loud murmurings from the crowd behind him and the man’s face turning bright red. “We didn’t do anything illegal!” he sputtered out, wringing his hands.

No, but apparently having too good a time at a company party was enough to make some of them nervous. Perhaps a few of them were married and didn’t want to see their drunken spouses hanging off their coworkers, but that may have been the worst of it. Who else would care that a lot of alcohol could liven up even the most mundane?

“Don’t worry,” Nagito assured in a bored tone. He clicked reply. “I can figure this out.” Quickly typing out,  _ Gotcha _ , he hit send.

A phone dinged behind him.

Nagito turned slowly, a smirk in place as the group stepped away from a man who had suddenly gone very pale. “It… It was a coincidence.”

“Care to show us?” Nagito asked. The man was breathing heavily, looking at everyone with wild pleading eyes and when they landed on Nagito he shook his head.

“Reginald...?” the first said. His mouth hung open, words failing him further.

“You were just supposed to pay it!” Reginald said, backing away. “I wasn’t even asking that much!”

“How could you?” a woman screeched, lunging for him.

Reginald let out a similarly high pitched sound, jumping out of reach. His eyes frantically searched the room, going between the elevator, the stairs, and the advancing mob. Then he held his breath and dropped to the floor as some kind of gelatinous substance. His coworkers hesitated where they had meant to grab for him and Reginald, now a blob, slid through a vent in the floor before anyone was able to stop him.

“Huh,” Nagito said. “Did not see that coming.” He rose and waved to the frozen group still staring at the last point their culprit had been seen and took the elevator back to the ground floor.

^^^

Five men stood shoulder to shoulder in Mirabelle’s kitchen all glancing between one another and the elderly woman sat at the counter with a partial cup of coffee in front of her. For her part, she had interlaced her fingers and the general air of disapproval that rolled off her was enough to make Hajime a little nervous as well despite it not being directed his way. It was such a drastic change from the kindly lady who had answered the door after requesting their services.

“Thank you for coming,” she said stiffly. “The detectives said they found evidence.”

Their leader, and oldest of them by far, cleared his throat. “What kind of evidence?”

“A fingerprint,” Mahiru replied. Her gaze fell on the youngest of the team, a teenager by the looks of it who had hunched his shoulders to his ears.

Hajime drew in a breath, stilling any nerves for the moment so he could find what to say. “That’s right. A fingerprint belonging to someone who shouldn’t have been inside the house at all because their job was entirely outside.”

Now that he had begun, the words began to come easier. Mahiru had called him a natural. He belonged here, he could do this. “The housekeeper saw a ladder against the house while she was cleaning, and there were marks in the lawn underneath the bedroom window to confirm her story.” Hajime could envision the scene unfolding before him as their suspect committed their crime. "That morning, someone used the ladder to enter the second floor of the house. They must have taken their shoes off because the room didn't have any mud in it. We wouldn’t have even known they were there except for one mistake. They left behind the print on the dresser that the necklace was on. Then they escaped out the same window they came through"

Hajime pointed at the teen. “The fingerprint is a match to you.”

Mirabelle, straight backed and gaze cold, remained trained on the slouching kid. The others watched him with hard faces as he shrunk away from them. “Well,” she asked finally, once Hajime’s accusation had a few moments to hang in the air. “Do you have anything to say?”

“I didn’t do it,” he mumbled.

“Speak up.” The older man grabbed the kid and hauled him forward. “Is that why you would always sneak off? What did you do? And don’t you dare lie.”

“I didn’t steal anything!”

“Are you saying that is not your print that was found inside my house?” Mirabelle spoke in a low dangerous tone.

“No, I… I can explain that.” The teenager pulled out his phone, tapping the screen with trembling fingers. “I did sneak in, but not to steal anything, I swear. Here.” He set the device on the counter and pushed it towards Mirabelle with Hajime and Mahiru leaning over to take a look as well. A social media account was opened, images and videos of the cats filling the page.

“I… I’ve been taking pictures of the cats here. Ever since I learned that all had funny names.” He looked between them all as Mirabelle picked up the phone and began to scroll through what was uploaded. A sleek black feline with striking eyes staring into the camera was the profile image. Beneath that were uploads of the cats playing, lounging, and causing mischief around the house.

“What’s this?” Mirabelle showed Mahiru.

“The number of likes,” she replied. “If people like something, they press that and it counts it.”

Mirabelle’s eyes grew wide. “That many people have pressed the button on this video?”

“Cats  _ are _ pretty popular,” Mahiru shrugged.

“I swear,” the teen continued, “all I’ve been doing is taking those. I didn’t steal anything!!”

“We’d like to believe that, but you could have it hidden. Or sold it.” Mahiru was giving him a stern look and he seemed unable to argue against it. “Until it turns up, you’re our prime suspect.”

Mirabelle had stopped scrolling on the account and set the phone down on the counter, but the video playing on a loop caught Hajime’s attention. A mostly white cat sat regal on a shelf, tail twitching lightly, and as the clip continued it reached out a paw and knocked a small frame off that had been sitting beside it. The caption read  _ Beware the wrath of the gods. _

Distantly he could hear Mahiru arguing with their suspect, the teen pleading his innocence. Hajime held his chin a moment as he watched the video play through twice more. Was it possible they had overlooked the obvious?

“Is it okay if I take another look at the room?” Hajime blurted, cutting through the noise that engulfed them.

Mirabelle shrugged. “If you would like, I don’t see why not.”

“Do you think you will find something?” Mahiru asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll be right back.” He ran for the stairs, avoiding several strolling cats as he went.

The bedroom looked much the same as it had before, plus or minus a cat. Atop the cat tree the terrifying Ra watched silently as Hajime let himself in and eased the door shut. No one was right behind him, but he wasn’t sure how much time he had before Mahiru followed to check on him. He would have to make this quick, but it could be the first in the long line of penitences. He wasn’t able to change what he had done, but maybe he could make up for it. It would have to be enough for now.

Hajime glanced up at Ra and held a finger to his lips before focusing until his vision turned black and white. Outlines of the furniture turned hazy and, with a little concentration, he could switch focus between what was on either side of it. Keeping one hand on the wall for support from the dizzying change, he turned towards the dresser where the necklace had been.

Once again, he pictured the scene that morning. The cats were lounging until there were taps on the window. And if one of them had been on the dresser...

The wood making it up was a softer white, but trapped between it and the wall was something far more dense, that glowed brilliantly white to his perceptive vision.

^^^

“You found it!” Mirabelle gasped as she held the necklace aloft, the light from her kitchen windows making it glitter. “It was here this entire time!”

Hajime nodded. He had felt light as he had returned to the kitchen with it in his hands, a grin stretched across his face and it only seemed to grow as he handed off the found item. “One of the cats must have knocked it off. Maybe they were startled at the sound of someone coming through the window.”

Mahiru patted his shoulder and added a quiet, “Nice work!” into his ear.

“Silly of me not to check that first and assume theft,” Mirabelle said as she turned to the teen. “I’m sorry to have accused you of stealing it. However, I would like you to show me more of this thing you have with the cats.” Just as the teen had begun to grin, she gave him a serious look. “And you will use the door next time.”

He hunched his shoulders and nodded.

“Well, this has been exciting,” Mirabelle exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “You’re everything they say the Guild is. Should I ever be in need of services, I won’t hesitate to ask for you again.”

“It was no problem.” Mahiru gave her a slight bow. “We’re happy to help anytime.”

“Actually, I have one more thing…” Reaching into his bag, Hajime pulled out several of the company pages he had spent countless hours pouring over thinking they might help the case. He laid them out, smoothing away any wrinkles so she could see his various penmarks. “I noticed something strange with your accounts…”

^^^

While solving a rather mundane case had eaten up half of his day, there was still more than enough of it for Nagito to put something into action. Cake was still an option, but he would have to get the word out about it and worst off, he didn’t actually have one to offer. While he could assume that when his friends learned of Hajime’s secret they might be somewhat distracted, it wasn’t a guarantee they would forget entirely and still be looking for some. Perhaps if he hurried he could find something suitably enticing instead.

He had just stepped through the door of the main building when he was met with a grimacing Togami leaning against the wall opposite the entrance. Byakuya would never look as rundown as this one appeared now, meaning Mirage must be feeling exhausted to let their outward appearance slip. When he spoke, the words needed to be forced out of his mouth. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Returning back from solving a case.”

“Half solving, you mean.” Mirage pressed his palm against his forehead. “You identified the culprit in record time and then allowed him to escape.” He adjusted his glasses and sighed. “The client called. They’re all riled up and want to press charges against him so we need to bring him in.”

“Tracking isn’t my thing,” Nagito said with a shrug.

Mirage looked at him, blinking slowly. “You started this case and now you’re not going to see it through?” His image shimmered into a more familiar shape of tousled pale hair and a worn green jacket clinging to thin shoulders. “What happened to the Nagito of a few days ago who was saying things like ‘Are we letting criminals run free?’ and ‘Do we not even solve cases anymore?’”

Nagito cringed at what he could only assume was an accurate mimic of his speaking voice. No wonder people stared at him. “How did you hear what I said?”

“Chiaki, of course.” The faux him studied his nails and then stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, looking him over with a tilt of his head. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

An outsider may have found some deeper symbolism to the current situation. Two versions of himself arguing over what the right thing to do was, whether solving a case or protecting his friends from potential traitors. Though, he had no way to explain to Mirage why it was he didn’t need to follow up this case any longer and should really be throwing all of his energy in preventing Hajime from getting too comfortable.

Resigning himself to another small setback, Nagito inclined his head. “Of course not. Seeing a case through to the end is still my top priority.”

The other him grinned, seeming to come to life when his decision was made. “Great to hear!” He patted him on the back and left, humming as he strolled towards his office. Nagito waited, but even as he turned out of sight Mirage remained in his form.

This was a problem. True, he wasn’t dealing with a criminal mastermind, but every minute he wasted searching for the man was one he couldn’t be setting up his great reveal. Chances were that blackmailer had returned to his home to hide out. Probably thought his problems would go away if he just lay low and didn’t draw attention to himself.

But, on the off chance Nagito was wrong, he should take someone with him better suited for this type of work.

A coin toss led him to check the kitchen first before the gymnasium for Akane and Nagito did find her sitting alone at one of the tables. She was stuffing fistfulls of candies into her mouth and chewing loudly, oblivious to the rest of the world as she watched a video on her phone and snorted between smacks of her lips. Her chomping pace sped up once she noticed he was headed her way so that she was just emptying the bag as he came to a stop in front of her.

“I need your help,” he said simply, watching her eyes grow round and chewing slow until she was able to swallow her mouthful.

“Really? Whaddya need?” She turned off her phone and tilted her head.

“My suspect ran away,” Nagito lamented. “I need help chasing him down, but I’m not nearly fast or strong enough for that.” Not to mention the increased senses meant she was a better bloodhound than some of the police K-9 units.

“Well you came to the right person! Ain’t nobody ever gotten away from me.” Akane grinned and leaned forward holding up her fingers. “I’ll help ya for three double cheeseburgers.”

Nagito smiled. “Two.”

She dropped a finger, but remained entirely serious. “Two, with bacon and cheese.”

“Done.”

“Alright!” She hopped to her feet and began to stretch her arms and legs like a proper athlete. He had made the right call in recruiting her help. “Who we chasin’?”

“A blackmailer. He doesn’t look like much, but he managed to slip by me.” Nagito turned to lead the way, but stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. “Bring a bucket.”

^^^

A small army of people invaded the reception area of the Evenwood company led by Mirabelle herself who, despite her years, was outpacing the security team and young detectives behind her. She didn’t slow as she strode past the desk and towards the back offices. “Where are Lewis and Sarah?” The receptionist pointed in the direction they were already headed and stood out of the way.

By the time the co-CEO’s had been summoned, their entrance had garnered the attention of everyone in the building. Workers and visitors alike peeked from behind cubicles and doorways to witness what was happening. The pair slowed when they saw Mirabelle, with arms crossed, waiting for them with her entourage. Sarah’s face went stoney as she flickered between all present.

Sweat formed on Lewis’ brow, but he still grinned as wide as he did as when Hajime had met him the first time. “Ms. Mirabelle! We weren’t expecting you today. If we had known you would be stopping in we would have cleared our schedules. You didn’t have to trouble yourself with a trip.”

Mirabelle frowned. “It would do you good to remember I still own this company.” Lewis gulped and ducked his head.

“What’s all this?” Sarah asked, pulling her hands behind her back.

“The detectives I’ve hired have found some interesting information.” Mirabelle held up a hand to Mahiru and Hajime. “Show them what you found.”

Mahiru nudged Hajime with her elbow and he stepped forward holding up his files. “I was looking at expenses and happened to notice some things not adding up. There are payments being made to accounts every month to invoices that don’t make sense when you really stop to look at them. And I couldn’t find the places when I searched online for them.”

He wasn’t some talentless kid anymore. Squaring his shoulders back, Hajime lifted his chin so he could be heard clearly. “I think someone has been stealing from the company.”

“Unbelievable,” Lewis shook his head, attempting to smile though his face twitched. “I can’t believe someone would do that here. Who do you think it is?” At his side, Sarah clenched her jaw.

“That should be easy.” A dark aura radiated off of Mirabelle as she stared off her employees. “Someone with access to all of our internal accounts and enough sway to make sure no one noticed.”

Hajime held up a page and pointed to a name circled on it. “This isn’t a legitimate company. But every month thousands of dollars goes into it. The bank account was opened in a name that sounds official, like you were paying taxes to the city. And then fake invoices were created and submitted to accounts payable.”

“Of course, half of this they didn’t know what they were looking at,” Mirabelle concluded. “However, I do. And a couple hours in my kitchen we had it all figured out.”

“You’ve been embezzling from the company!” Sarah turned on Lewis, crossing her arms in an almost identical pose as the company owner. “I knew it!”

“I…” Lewis stammered, looking between her and the security team. “She was in on it too!” He jumped in front of her, eyes pleading at Mirabelle. “It was all her idea! I just went along with it.”

“That’s not true!” Sarah’s face was turning a dark crimson. “He would have gotten us caught sooner if we had stuck with his plan. He was just going to send it straight to our own accounts.”

Lewis gaped. “You were the one who wanted to spend it all on expensive items! Vacation homes and vehicles? Ha! Everyone would have figured out you would have been getting extra money from somewhere.”

“Enough!” Mirabelle cut them off. The pair blinked owlishly as did most everyone gathered to watch. She looked over her shoulder at the team. “I’ve heard enough. Arrest them, please.”

The co-CEO’s balked at seeing security begin advancing on them. Quickly forgetting their differences, they turned and scrambled as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Security shouted once they realized what was happening, but it was already over. They only made it several steps before both Lewis and Sarah froze mid stride and remained completely motionless in their gravity defying positions.

Beside him, Mahiru had extended her hands and formed a small window with her fingers. While watching the pair through the opening she had created she let out a heavy sigh. “Why do they always try and run?”

Hajime decided this had to be the most exciting office trip he had ever been on.

^^^

One strong kick did in the door to the cheap motel room send it violently crashing to the floor, interrupting the nature documentary playing on the ancient tv. Their startled target leapt from the bed and headed for the back of the room. “Stop him!” Nagito called, “Before he goes down the drain or something.” And he was delayed from returning even further.

Akane let out a snarled laugh and in one bound blocked off his retreat towards the bathroom. She grinned at the man with her pointed fangs and feline eyes and he pulled back. Understandable considering how feral she looked while in this form. With Nagito standing in the ruined doorway, he withdrew towards an unoccupied corner with a whimper.

“How did you find me?”

Nagito rolled his eyes. “I would love to say it was all Akane, but you checked in under your own name and paid with a credit card. Not to mention the desk clerk remembers you as ‘That guy that came in crying about needing to lay low.’” He sighed and crossed his arms. “What a waste of my time. Somebody would have picked you up eventually.”

The man’s lip quivered. “I… I didn’t mean to. Just wanted a little extra money and wasn’t going to actually share the photos anywhere. I was in them too, you know. It all just got out of hand!”

“You didn’t mean to blackmail your colleagues?” Nagito repeated, low and deadly as his hands curled into tight fists. “They trusted you and you were willing to sell them out for money.”

“Please, I-”

“Are you making excuses?” Nagito scoffed, his vision beginning to blur. “You disgust me. You don’t care about anyone but yourself and you’re willing to see people who care about you get hurt. You don’t deserve anyone’s mercy for betraying them!”

He was back again, standing in the data lab, emotions swirling into a dark muddled mess that became so confused he wasn’t sure exactly which one he was feeling. Was he angry? Or more hurt? How could someone turn on one of his friends? And all because they carried a price on their head. It was disgusting. Wrong. He protected them from people like this. He would always look out for them!

“Nagito, what the hell?”

He froze, returning to the room that smelled faintly of cigarettes and bleach. Akane was staring at him, her brow furrowed and no longer paying attention to the man they had come to apprehend. Not that they needed to worry about him escaping for the moment as he was currently huddled in a corner from Nagito’s fury. He sucked in a breath, willing his racing heart to stop beating against his chest as he released it slowly.

No, this was the present. He had dealt with every threat that had come through and as soon as he got home he would take care of yet another. Their safety came first.

“Sorry, about that.” He smiled through grit teeth, old wounds still making themselves painfully known. “Let’s just take him and go.”

^^^

Two options lay before Nagito. If he turned down the one hall he would likely catch everyone still around tables in the break room. It was where Akane had headed as soon as she could reasonably abandon him once they returned to base. There was still the possibility of standing in front of the group and simply stating facts like he had originally intended. The other would lead him back to the data lab and his options would further expand. Perhaps he would catch Hajime there and tease out that he knew the other’s secret? Or maybe the tech wouldn’t be there and he could sit at his desk and wait or look through his emails for anything further incriminating.

Nagito’s feet brought him outside of the lab, slowing as he heard voices through the open door. A feminine one, Mahiru he realized as he grew closer, was speaking about something and he stopped just out of view to listen.

“-job. I let them know what you did and they were really excited to hear the news. If you like it here, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask for you to stay permanently-”

“What’s going on?” Nagito pushed into the room. The cool demeanor he strove for felt out of reach, blocked off by a wash of panic that sped his heart rate. He couldn’t even convince himself that he had misheard what she had said. Even if he thought he had managed to keep his underlying feelings in check, the dual perplexed looks he received made it clear he looked as shaken as he felt.

“I was just telling Hajime how I spoke to Kirigiri and told her how he solved his first case,” Mahiru tilted her head, like the words she had just spoken hadn’t stopped every thought Nagito had in his head.

“What…?” Nagito gaped, gaze going between them both. There was no way he had heard that right. There had to be more. Obviously Mahiru did most of the work and they were only giving Hajime credit because of pity or some similar sort of feeling. “The diamond case…?”

“Yeah…” Mahiru was staring at him, eyebrows raised to the tips of her hair. “I was completely stumped, but he figured it all out and found the necklace by himself. And he helped the client find out that people were actually stealing from her. It was pretty amazing actually.”

Nagito could scarcely breathe. While Mahiru spoke, he could see Hajime behind her watching him, his initial surprise melting into a slow grin and he leaned back in his chair with arms folded. Smug, that was the term. Obviously this… this  _ temp _ thought he had won somehow. But he never lost. Never. Sure, he may not always be right, but Nagito would never lose. Especially not to someone like him.

His arm raised of its own volition, index finger directed solely at Hajime and at the top of his lungs he declared, “Hajime’s living on the streets in the warehouse district!”

Hysterical giddy filled him at watching the other’s face immediately morph. Gone was the smile, replaced by a pale wide stare. It was much the same as all the others had worn when made his reveal. And Nagito loved it. That one moment when he proved beyond all doubt that he was the smartest one here. Not the way he had intended it to happen, but it was here now. Yes, this was what he preferred, the look of someone whose secret had just been dragged into the open. Vulnerable and weak. There was no way Hajime would stay now, no matter if he had somehow managed to solve one simple case.

In the midst of his triumphant thoughts, Mahiru, her own expression hesitating, turned to Hajime. “Is this true?”

The temp made a noise, the start of something perhaps a denial or explanation, but then his shoulders sagged and he looked at the floor. “It is…” he said quietly.

Nagito was grinning now, his thoughts nothing but repetition of “ _ He admitted it! He actually admitted it!” _

Mahiru grabbed Hajime by the wrist and yanked. “Come with me,” she spoke forcefully, leaving no room for him to object. Nagito stood aside as she dragged him out, quickly falling in behind them, a light spring to his step. “Why is this the first I’ve heard about it?” she called as he led the march through the building.

“I’m sorry,” Hajime mumbled, “I… didn’t want to tell anyone. I was trying to figure it out on my own.” The words were thick, possibly moments away from tears. What a perfect addition to his victory!

“Don’t be too hard on him!” Nagito sang from the back. The direction Mahiru was headed was the same path that he had forgone earlier leading straight to the break room and the noise of a group gathered to eat dinner. Maybe everyone? This was going far better than he planned!

Mahiru said nothing further as she dragged the humiliated temp into a full room and right to the table containing Sonia, Gundham, and Kazuichi. Though the rest of the team seemed to turn their attention their way as she came to a stop before the mechanic. Kazuichi set his can of cola down and weakly asked, “What’s up?” as she stared intently down at him, Hajime still caught in her vice-like grip.

Nagito held his breath as he awaited the words.

“How soon can we get another room added to the base?” she asked.

“Ah…” Kazuichi looked between them, chuckled nervously, and said, “What kind of room…?”

“A room room! Jeez.” She shook Hajime’s limp arm. “For him. He needs a place to stay because he’s apparently been living on the streets this entire time!”

The only noise that followed was the clang of Ibuki’s silverware hitting the floor. This was it, the moment of truth. Yet, Nagito’s earlier glee was waning, his intended direction of the conversation not feeling right. Mahiru sounded frustrated enough, yet the way she had said it.

_ He needs a place to stay… _

Through a muffled mouthful, Akane was the first to speak up. “Wha, he doth?”

Sonia, politely clearing her throat behind a fist, gazed up at them seriously. “This is very troublesome. You should have come to us sooner.”

Kazuichi shook himself from his daze and jumped to his feet. “Yeah, what were you thinking? What kinda bro am I to not help a guy out when he’s down? I’ll put the request in tonight to add a room for him here!”

As voices joined in agreement, Nagito felt the air sucked from his lungs. No. No, this was wrong. Why were they reacting this way? How could they want to help? Why? Hajime was now smiling weakly as Mahiru finally released him to let her hands rest on her hips. Kauichi was chattering about wanting this new room to be next to his own. Tears slipped down Mikan’s cheeks as he heard her whisper that she was a terrible friend to not know.

“Don’t you want to know why he’s been living like that?” Nagito spoke over them, looking around the room as one by one he became the center of attention rather than Hajime. “I mean,” he held out his hand, “what happened that he became like that? Did he gamble everything away? Run out from a crime? Is he into drugs?”

“Seriously?” Mahiru’s glare was full of ice. “That’s the first thing you think of?”

“I…” Nagito wavered.

“Yeah, dude, the why doesn’t matter!” Kazuichi put a hand on Hajime’s shoulder. “But really, why the secrets?”

“I don’t know, it’s kinda embarrassing.” Hajime’s head continued to hang, though he didn’t have the same defeated look it had when Nagito had first declared what he’d discovered. “I didn’t even tell them everything when I interved. Just that I was going through some hard times and really could use the job…”

“You may find that many you come across in this guild have taken paths through turbulent times and wish for them to remain forgotten,” Gundham declared. Sonia stared at the table, but silently agreed. “That does not mean that you should not accept the aid of mortals, nor let it dictate where you should travel on this plane next.”

“Yeah, uh, roughly translated,” Kazuichi scratched under his cap. “If you need a place to crash, my place is always open.”

“You can always stay in the infirmary again,” Mikan offered. “I-if you wanted to, that is…”

“You appear to be powerful enough to withstand the dark tower’s warding and may join us at any time,” Gundham said.

“No, everyone, listen to Ibuki’s idea.” She climbed up on her chair and held her breath until she had everyone’s attention before grinning. “We should have a sleepover! With movies!”

“Is that okay?” Mahiru turned towards Mirage, currently appearing as a serious man in a white uniform.

Mirage tapped his chin and then nodded. “The lounge should have sufficient space. I say, this sleepover is approved!”

“I want popcorn!” Akane called.

Gundham leaned closer to Sonia. “We should fetch the minions for this ritual.”

“Yes!” Sonia clapped. “They too would enjoy watching films. Hajime, you may hold Chaos. He likes warm snuggles.”

“I hope we don’t watch anything too scary…” Mikan whispered.

“And in the morning, we can all wake up early for training!” Only Akane did not groan at Nekomaru’s offer.

Nagito began to back towards the door. Wrong. All of this was wrong. He… had failed? That couldn’t be right. Nagito turned and fled, escaping the room of smiling faces offering film suggestions and making sleeping arrangements.

Where had he gone wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It shouldn't be as long a wait for the next chapter. As a hint, they will be receiving a call from the local yakuza. But that's all I'll share for now ヽ(‘ ∇‘ )ノ
> 
> I am also behind on responding to comments! I'm working on it!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. Hope you're all doing okay wherever you are. And I'll see you all next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first every ao3 work! I'm still learning the format, so I apologize in advance for anything that needs fixing.


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